Reliving the past
by Fiera Hathaway
Summary: Lissa finds a book called "Last sacrifice" and insists on reading the book aloud with the gang.Join Rose and her friends as they relive the events leading to Lissa's coronation. How will the gang react to Rose's thoughts?
1. Reading the summary

**Hey! This is my first fanfic so please don't be very hard on me. This is set two years after last sacrifice. Adrian and Rose are close friends again, no bitterness. Rose and Dimitri are in a happy relationship. All is well in their lives….until the book 'Last Sacrifice' shows up…**

**I know the gang reading the previous VA books have been before and I wanted to try Last Sacrifice. Well, read on…**

**RPOV**

I looked around at everyone. Recliners and Couches were arranged to form a circle. Lissa and Christian sat on the couch next to mine and Dimitri's and Eddie sat on the recliner on Dimitri's left. Sonya Karp sat on Mikhail's lap in the adjacent couch. I smiled seeing them. They looked so content and more in love after their marriage nearly a two year ago. My smile got bigger when I saw Adrian and Sydney sitting close together on a couch. They were truly perfect for each other and I was so happy for them. Like Dimitri and I, they had undergone a lot of struggles to be together and had recently decided to get married. I had been ecstatic on hearing the news and even more so when they asked me to be a bridesmaid. My mom and Abe were sitting together on a couch….perhaps a little too close for my comfort but I brushed it off. There was something going on there but neither was ready to admit it. I then turned my gaze to the god sitting next to me. My own personal Russian god. But the smile slid off my face as I took in his thoughtful frown. He was puzzling over the book. Ah the god damn book! Someone had sent us a book to read claiming it was very important for us. And despite my protests Lissa had decided to read the book. She decided to make it a group thing inviting all the people who "were involved" according to the note that came with the book. So here we were in one of the rooms of the royal palace. The title itself had creeped me out. "Last sacrifice" sounded ominous. We had no clue on what that book contained but we were about to find out. Might as well get it over with. "Okay then let's start," I said, snuggling close to Dimitri on the couch.

"I'll read", said Lissa excitedly. Why she was excited to read a book was beyond me!

Lissa took the book and flipped it over to read the preview.

Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules.

"Figures," I muttered, "we get some random book to read and it has to be about me".

Everyone laughed. "Just your luck, little dhampir" said Adrian grinning.

**She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir's Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir princess, Lissa**.

"Ha!" I exclaimed, "it's about you too Liss."

**She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri.**

"You are there too," I said looking at Dimitri. He smiled.

"Of course he is," Christian said, "Lissa and Dimitri would be mentioned in any book about you." Everyone nodded. What could I say? It was true.

"Gorgeous off limits instructor?" echoed Lissa, "suits."

"Off-limits?" my mom muttered, "Should have stayed that way". But I knew she meant no offense. She really was okay with me and Dimitri dating and had even admitted that Dimitri was a good influence on me.

"What is with Rose and breaking laws?" Sydney asked "You always seem to be breaking them."

"True that," Eddie said, grinning, "no one breaks laws as much as Rose does".

"Rules and laws are meant to be broken," I said primly, attracting a wave of laughter except for my mom and Dimitri who were shaking their heads. Abe was looking at me with pride

**And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardians to come.**

"Oh, I remember that," Christian said, laughing. "You called the ruler of moroi a sanctimonious bitch."

Eddie and Abe were laughing and Lissa had a reluctant smile on her face. But everyone else who weren't present in that meeting were looking at me in shock.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," I said, crossing my arms, "I had just found out that I had been used as a means to pass the age law. I was angry. Plus that law was outrageous."

"I agree," Mikhail said, "that law could possibly have led to the extinction of dhampirs. But you didn't quite have to call her that."

"That's Rose for you" Christian said, still shaking with laughter.

I however ignored him and turned to Adrian. "I am sorry," I apologized, "I shouldn't have said that."

He smiled sadly, "It wasn't your fault Rose. I understand."

Sydney, sensing that he was missing his great aunt, squeezed his hand comfortingly.

Dimitri, who had been quiet, taking it all in, turned to me and said, "That day in café, when you said that you protested against the law, I knew you would have done something dramatic. But never did I imagine that you would dare call Tatiana a bitch to her face."

I smiled cheekily at him, "really comrade you should have known that I was and am capable of calling anyone anything. Even the queen herself."

He laughed running his fingers through my hair.

Lissa continued.

******Now the law has finally caught up with Rose - for a crime she didn't even commit. She's in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. **

Now everyone sobered up.

**She'll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.**

"And you found her," Lissa said, referring to Jill.  
"Yeah but not without help," I said looking at Dimitri, Sydney and Sonya who smiled back at me.

******But the clock on Rose's life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back...and this time she is truly out of second chances. **

Everyone shivered

**The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?**

"I have never seen it that way," Sonya mused. "Who will save the guardians if they are in trouble?"

"No one" Dimitri said, simply. "We learn to become self reliant. Our only goal is the protection of moroi."

Mikhail, Eddie, my mom and I nodded.

"They come first" mom said softly.

All the moroi in the room were looking at us in wonder. "Guardians go to so much trouble putting the moroi first all the time and some moroi don't even acknowledge their sacrifice," Lissa said, probably thinking about people like Nathan Ivashkov. "I am going to change that" she continued confidently. She looked every bit like a queen she was that all of us smiled.

"Who wants to read next?" she asked.

"I will" Sydney said, taking the book from Lissa. "Chapter one," she started.

**A/N: please review! I would love to hear from you all and correct my mistakes.**


	2. Reading the first chapter

**Thank you so much for the reviews….they really made my day :D**

**Here is the first chapter! **

**I ****DON'T LIKE CAGES.**

"Crap" I groaned. Everyone looked at me questioningly. "It's my point of view," I clarified.

Everyone looked stunned until Sydney asked, "How do you know? After all its just an ordinary sentence."

"I just do," I said before turning to bury my face in Dimitri's chest.

Suddenly, Christian laughed, "oh, I am going to love this!"

Lissa nodded eagerly. "I always wanted to know what goes on in rose's mind," she said, smiling widely.

"Yeah," Eddie said, chortling, "we finally get to know what happens in the devious mind of Rose Hathaway." Everyone was laughing now.

I groaned into Dimitri's chest and I felt him chuckling. This is so not fair. My thoughts were meant to be private. Now all my friends will know what I was thinking.

Even Abe and Janine will. It was a nightmare.

**I don't even like going to zoos. The first time I went to one, I almost had a claustrophobic attack looking at those poor animals.**

"Ooh, I remember that," Lissa said, "I really wanted to tour the zoo. There were so many different animals there. But Rose took one look at the first cage that held a Leopard and went so pale that I had to half carry her outside."

Everyone laughed at the image of Lissa carrying me. I had to admit it was pretty funny. Once the snickers subsided, Sydney continued.

**I couldn't imagine any creature living that way. Sometimes I even felt a little bad for criminals, condemned to life in a cell. I'd certainly never expected to spend **_**my **_**life in one.**

I shuddered.

**But lately, life seemed to be throwing me a lot of things I'd never expected, because here I was, locked away.**

'**Hey!' I yelled, gripping the steel bars that isolated me from the world. 'How long am I going to be here? When's my trial? You can't keep me in this dungeon forever!****'**

"Ah. The Hathaway spirit can never be crushed." Christian said loftily.

"Rose, you shouldn't yell at the guardians. They were just doing their jobs," chastised my mother.

"I know, mom." I grumbled. "But I couldn't not do anything!"

"Dungeon, Rose? Really?" Abe asked, amused.

"Read Sydney." I commanded her.

**Okay, it wasn't exactly a dungeon, not in the dark, rusty-chain sense.**

I shot a glance at Abe.

**I was inside a small cell with plain walls, a plain floor, and well . . . plain everything. Spotless. Sterile. Cold. It was actually more depressing than any musty dungeon could have managed.**

Dimitri nodded, his expression pained. I had nearly forgotten that we both had been locked in same jail cell and had suffered similarly. I squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, both of us lost in the other's eyes, taking comfort in each other's presence.

**The bars in the doorway felt cool against my skin, hard and unyielding. Fluorescent lighting made the metal gleam in a way that felt harsh and irritating to my eyes. I could see the shoulder of a man standing rigidly to the side of the cell's entrance and knew there were probably four more guardians in the hallway out of my sight. I also knew none of them were going to answer me back, but that hadn't stopped me from constantly demanding answers from them for the last two days.**

"What could stop Rose?" Eddie asked rhetorically. I was still lost in Dimitri's gorgeous deep brown eyes.

**When the usual silence came, I sighed and slumped back on the cot in the cell's corner. Like everything else in my new home, the cot was colorless and stark. Yeah. I really was starting to wish I had a real dungeon. Rats and cobwebs would have at least given me something to watch.**

"Eww. Rats and cobwebs!" Lissa said, grimacing, "I would rather have clean jail cell." Sydney nodded.

I looked at Lissa and said "I'd rather not have you in a jail cell at all."

Lissa smiled.

**I stared upward and immediately had the disorienting feeling I always did in here: that the ceiling and walls were closing in around me. Like I couldn't breathe. Like the sides of the cell would keep coming toward me until no space remained, pushing out all the air . . .**

"I felt that way too" Dimitri whispered, agony clear in his voice. My imprisonment was reminding him of his, of the despair he had felt when he was there. He had been dealing with the whole turning back to a dhampir drama in addition to being imprisoned and everyone viewing him as a strigoi hadn't helped matters. I hugged him close in an effort to console him, at the same time seeking comfort in his warmth. Even I didn't want to be reminded of my time in the jail.

My mom and Lissa's expressions were pained. They couldn't bear to see us suffering. I smiled at them before whispering reassuringly to Dimitri, "Its okay. We are free now." I earned a half smile for the effort and he pulled me closer.

**I sat up abruptly, gasping. **_**Don't stare at the walls and ceiling, Rose**_**, I chastised myself. **

Dimitri's arm around me was the only thing keeping me calm now.

**Instead, I looked down at my clasped hands and tried to figure out how I'd gotten into this mess. The initial answer was obvious: someone had framed me for a crime I didn't commit. And it wasn't petty crime either. It was murder. They'd had the audacity to accuse me of the highest crime a Moroi or dhampir could commit. Now, that isn't to say I haven't killed before. I have. I've also done my fair share of rule (and even law) breaking.**

"That's certainly true." Adrian said, attempting to diffuse the tension in the room. Several people smiled but no one spoke.

**Coldblooded murder, however, was not in my repertoire. **

"I didn't know you knew the word, Rose," Christian teased. I mock punched him.

He pretended to collapse in pain and that brought out smiles on everyone's faces.

**Especially not the murder of a queen.**

"Definitely not," Abe said.

**It was true Queen Tatiana hadn't been a friend of mine.**

Adrian, Christian and Eddie burst out laughing at this. Lissa and Abe were grinning. Even Dimitri and my mom cracked a smile.

"Imagine Tatiana and Rose as friends," Christian said, in between chuckles.

"Yeah. Doing each other's hair and gossiping about guys," Adrian said which cracked everyone up. I blanched at the thought.

"Hey! Rose is _my_ best friend and I am not up to sharing," Lissa said, acting all snotty.

At this Christian fell to the ground which just added to the hilarity of the situation.

Even I had to admit it was funny. Nonetheless I shouted, "That's enough guys."

Sydney continued.

**She'd been the coolly calculating ruler of the Moroi—a race of living, magic-using vampires who didn't kill their victims for blood. Tatiana and I had had a rocky relationship for a number of reasons.**

**One was me dating her great-nephew, Adrian. **

Dimitri and Sydney stiffened slightly while Adrian and I rolled our eyes.

**The other was my disapproval of her policies on how to fight off Strigoi—the evil, undead vampires who stalked us all.**

"Disapproval," Lissa echoed, "That is the tamest way of wording it, I guess"

Christian, Adrian and Eddie nodded vigorously while Abe said "Downright condemnation is actually right."

"Hey! I was justified," I said, defending myself.

"In this case," muttered mom.

**Tatiana had tricked me a number of times, but I'd never wanted her dead. Someone apparently had, however, and they'd left a trail of evidence leading right to me, the worst of which were my fingerprints all over the silver stake that had killed Tatiana. Of course, it was **_**my **_**stake, so naturally it'd have my fingerprints. No one seemed to think that was relevant.**

"Uh-huh" Abe said, apparently agreeing with me while mom nodded her head.

**I sighed again and pulled out a tiny crumpled piece of paper from my pocket. My only reading material. I squeezed it in my hand, having no need to look at the words. I'd long since memorized them. The note's contents made me question what I'd known about Tatiana. It had made me question a lot of things. Frustrated with my own surroundings, I slipped out of them and into someone else's: my best friend Lissa's. **

"Really, Rose?" Lissa asked, shocked.

"Sorry but you were my only entertainment" I said grinning, not at all sounding sorry. Dimitri caught my cheeky tone and smiled, happy that I was no longer brooding over my time in jail.

**Lissa was a Moroi**

"No duh" Adrian snorted. I shot him a glare.

**And we shared a psychic link, one that let me go to her mind and see the world through her eyes. All Moroi wielded some type of elemental magic.**

"Oh, I never knew," Christian said sarcastically. I shot him a glare too but he smirked making me glare harder. At that, he paled. Satisfied, I leant back against Dimitri and turned my attention to Sydney.

**Lissa's was spirit, an element tied to psychic and healing powers. It was rare among Moroi, who usually used more physical elements, and we barely understood its abilities—which were incredible**.

Lissa, Adrian and Sonya nodded, looking proud.

**She'd used spirit to bring me back from the dead a few years ago, **

"Thank you," Abe and Janine said simultaneously while Dimitri nodded.

"Oh, there is no need to thank me," said Lissa, smiling softly, "I couldn't live without her so I really had no choice but to heal her."

I was actually touched that my parents cared and that I had such a caring boyfriend and best friend but I wasn't about to show my mushy-gooshy side to anyone. I was the badass Hathaway for crying out loud. So, I joked, "Yeah Liss, how could you go on a single day without seeing my smiling face," while smiling cheesily and batting my eyelashes at her.

That made Lissa grin and exclaim goofily, "Oh, I love you Rosie!"

Everyone laughed, happy to see that Lissa was relaxing. She was quite wound up on the usual days, what with her duties as the ruler of the moroi.

Sydney read on…..

**And that's what had forged our bond.**

**Being in her mind freed me from my cage but offered little help for my problem. Lissa had been working hard to prove my innocence, ever since the hearing that had laid out all the evidence against me. My stake being used in the murder had only been the beginning. My opponents had been quick to remind everyone about my antagonism toward the queen and had also found a witness to testify about my whereabouts during the murder. That testimony had left me without an alibi. The Council had decided there was enough evidence to send me to a full-fledged trial—where I would receive my verdict. Lissa had been trying desperately to get people's attention and convince them I'd been framed. She was having trouble finding anyone who would listen, however, because the entire Moroi Royal Court was consumed with preparations for Tatiana's elaborate funeral. A monarch's death was a big deal. Moroi and dhampirs—half vampires like me—were coming from all over the world to see the spectacle. Food, flowers, decorations, even musicians . . . The full deal. If Tatiana had gotten married, I doubted the event would have been this elaborate. **

"Wait, what?" Adrian exclaimed. "My aunt getting married?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"It was just a comparison, Adrian," I said, exasperated.

**With so much activity and buzz, no one cared about me now. **

"Hey!" exclaimed several people in the room. I rolled my eyes at them.

**As far as most people were concerned, I was safely stashed away and unable to kill again. **

"Stashed away!" Christian echoed, laughing loudly. "You make yourself sound like some garbage."

"Garbage isn't stashed away Christian," I said smugly, "Precious jewels are."

"Oh, please" he muttered, failing to make a snarky comeback.

I grinned, satisfied that I had beaten him. Dimitri leaned towards me and whispered huskily in my ear, "you are my precious jewel."

"Wanna show me how precious?" I asked, just as quietly and seductively. He smiled a soft teasing smile as he whispered back, "later, Roza."

Well that certainly made my day, I thought, as I smiled back goofily.

**Tatiana's murderer had been found. Justice was served. Case closed.**

Abe smiled at me for no real reason. Weird!

**Before I could get a clear picture of Lissa's surroundings, a commotion at the jail jerked me back into my own head.**

"Jerked you back to your own head?" Christian asked, baffled. "You really are one super weirdo Rose." he added dramatically, shaking his head.

"Oh look, if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black," I replied just as snarkily, "you are the definition of weirdness."

Eddie laughed and said "You both are just plain weird."

Christian and I glared at him. He remained unfazed. I raised my fist threatening. That made him shut up. Good.

**Someone had entered the area and was speaking to the guards, asking to see me. It was my first visitor in days. My heart pounded, and I leapt up to the bars, hoping it was someone who would tell me this had all been a horrible mistake.**

**My visitor wasn't **_**quite **_**who I'd expected.**

"Oh, who was it?" several people asked, leaning forward.

'**Old man,' I said wearily. 'What are you doing here?'**

"Answer your question?" I asked rhetorically.

"I think Rose is the only one who could get away with calling zmey an old man." remarked Sydney before flushing as she realized that the said zmey was in the room.

Abe just grinned at her and said, "Right you are, Sydney" before motioning for her to continue reading.

**Abe Mazur stood before me. As always, he was a sight to behold. **

"Always knew you respected me, little girl," Abe said in an annoying 'I am superior than thou' voice.

"Calling you a sight to behold isn't quite respect, old man," I replied carelessly. "I can call even a circus freak a sight to behold. That doesn't mean I respect him."

That wiped the grin off his face and only my mom had the guts to laugh.

"You shouldn't annoy him, Roza." chastised Dimitri in a low voice.

"Sorry, comrade. Can't help it, comrade." I said in a sing-song voice making him grin and peck me on the lips.

**It was the middle of summer—hot and humid, seeing as we were right in the middle of rural Pennsylvania—but that didn't stop him from wearing a full suit. It was a flashy one, perfectly tailored and adorned with a brilliant purple silk tie and matching scarf that just seemed like overkill.**

Adrian looked like he really wanted to say something, most probably comment on Abe's dressing sense. But he feared Abe too much to open his mouth.

**Gold jewelry flashed against the dusky hue of his skin, and he looked like he'd recently trimmed his short black beard.**

Abe nodded and grinned.

**Abe was a Moroi, and although he wasn't royal, he wielded enough influence to be.**

"Why, thank you little girl." Abe said, smirking at me.

"I was just stating a fact," I retorted coolly.

**He also happened to be my father.**

"I love how you tag that as an afterthought," laughed my mom. Everyone laughed and Abe scowled, looking remarkably like a 5 year old who had just been told that Santa Claus didn't exist.

'**I'm your lawyer,' he said cheerfully. 'Here to give you legal counsel, of course.'**

I snorted.

'**You aren't a lawyer,' I reminded him. 'And your last bit of advice didn't work out so well.' That was mean of me.**

"Glad you realized it, little girl." Abe said, with that stupid smirk playing on lips again. I swear nothing fazes him. I deemed that comment unfit to reply to.

**Abe—despite having no legal training whatsoever—had defended me at my hearing. Obviously, since I was locked up and headed for trial, the outcome of that hadn't been so great. But, in all my solitude, I'd come to realize that he'd been right about something. **

He grinned again and I resisted the urge to groan, instead opting to bury my face in Dimitri's chest rather than see my esteemed father's smug look. I could feel Dimitri's quiet laugh reverberating in his chest. He knew that Abe was seriously pissing me off and was quite amused by it. Hmm…I will have to teach him a lesson later.

**No lawyer, no matter how good, could have saved me at the hearing. **

Everyone nodded grimly.

**I had to give him credit for stepping up to a lost cause, **

"Aha!" Abe exclaimed. "Finally she gives me the much deserved credit."

Mom smacked him lightly and I said, "oh, you deserved credit, daddy dearest" in an annoying little girl voice, sarcasm dripped off every single word.

Everyone laughed quietly, scared that if they laugh out loud they will have to face the mobster's wrath. Adrian, Christian and Eddie were barely holding it though.

Abe grumbled under his breath.

**Though considering our sketchy relationship, I still wasn't sure why he had. My biggest theories were that he didn't trust royals and that he felt paternal obligation. In that order.**

"You were wrong, kizim. It wasn't either of those reasons." Abe said softly, all traces of his earlier laid-back attitude gone. I saw my mom watching him tenderly. Before I could ask him to elaborate he gestured for Sydney to continue reading.

'**My performance was perfect,' he argued. 'Whereas your compelling speech in which you said 'if I was the murderer' didn't do us any favors. Putting that image in the judge's head wasn't the smartest thing you could have done.'**

Mikhail and Eddie nodded whereas Dimitri's face was filled with understanding. He knew how important it was for me to give that speech, to defend myself. Then again, he knew me too well.

**I ignored the barb and crossed my arms. 'So what are you doing here? I know it's not just a fatherly visit. You never do anything without a reason.'**

"You two are way too alike," muttered mom.

"No, we are not," we both insisted at the same time, in the same stubborn tone. Everyone smiled or chuckled. Mom looked at me pointedly. I turned my head away, nose in the air.

I knew that we were alike but didn't want to admit it. I could tell that Abe thought the same.

"You are, Roza," whispered Dimitri in my ear, "why not just admit it?"

"I don't do things quite that way, comrade," I retorted, chuckling at his exasperated look.

'**Of course not. Why do anything without a reason?'**

'**Don't start up with your circular logic.'**

"As if yours is any better," muttered Christian under his breath.

"What was that, sparky?" I asked, merrily. He ignored me.

**He winked. 'No need to be jealous. If you work hard and put your mind to it, you might just inherit my brilliant logic skills someday.'**

I groaned, Abe grinned and everyone laughed. God that sounded so weird!

_Quit talking to yourself, Rose,_ I chastised myself under my breath. Great! Now I was truly going crazy. Dimitri looked at me quizzically but I just shook my head.

'**Abe,' I warned. 'Get on with it.'**

"Wow," remarked Christian, "she is serious. Unbelievable!"

"Ladies and gentleman," Eddie said, as if he had some announcement to make,

"The first sign of apocalypse. Rose. Is. Serious."

This brought a whole round of laughter. Seriously, can't I be serious? _There you go again, Rose,_ I thought, _talking to yourself_.

'**Fine, fine,' he said. 'I've come to tell you that your trial might be moved up.'**

'**W-what? That's great news!' At least, I thought it was. His expression said otherwise. Last I'd heard, my trial might be months away. The mere thought of that—of being in this cell so long—made me feel claustrophobic again.**

Dimitri tightened his arm around me. The mood in the room became grim again. It was like flipping a switch- light hearted in one moment and grim in the other.

'**Rose, you do realize that your trial will be nearly identical to your hearing. Same evidence and a guilty verdict.'**

'**Yeah, but there must be something we can do before that, right?**

"That's the Rose we all know," Christian said, attempting to lighten up the mood, "always believing that there is something that can be done, be it any situation."

Needless to say, he succeeded. Everyone cracked a smile.

**Find proof to clear me?' Suddenly, I had a good idea of what the problem was. 'When you say 'moved up, how soon are we talking?'**

'**Ideally, they'd like to do it after a new king or queen is crowned. You know, part of the post-coronation festivities.'**

**His tone was flippant, but as I held his dark gaze, I caught the full meaning.**

I caught Abe's eyes now.

**Numbers rattled in my head. **

"How can numbers rattle in your head?" Adrian asked, puzzled.

"Because she is Rose." answered Eddie as if that solved the problem.

"Great answer," I said sarcastically, "now can we continue?"

Sydney ploughed on before either could say anything.

'**The funeral's this week, and the elections are right after . . . You're saying I could go to trial and be convicted in, what, practically two weeks?'**

**Abe nodded.**

**I flew toward the bars again, my heart pounding in my chest. '**_**Two weeks**_**? Are you serious?'**

I looked towards the trio, Adrian, Christian and Eddie, waiting for some comment but thankfully, they kept quite.

**When he'd said the trial had been moved up, I'd figured maybe it was a month away. Enough time to find new evidence. How would I have pulled that off? Unclear. Now, time was rushing away from me. Two weeks wasn't enough, especially with so much activity at Court. Moments ago, I'd resented the long stretch of time I might face. Now, I had too little of it, **

"That's life," Dimitri said quietly, "when we have plenty of time we get fed up of it. All of a sudden, there is no time at all."

Everyone nodded. I could probably have teased him about his Zen life lessons but didn't feel like it. My mind was caught up in remembering my time in the jail.

**and the answer to my next question could make things worse.**

'**How long?' I asked, trying to control the trembling in my voice. 'How long after the verdict until they . . . carry out the sentence?'**

I thought for sure that someone would comment on my show of weakness but no one did. They looked sympathizing. I looked away. I never wanted to be weak. Never wanted anyone's sympathy. Now I had it. I felt embarrassed. Until now I hadn't had a problem with the book, except for the uncomfortable feeling of having my thoughts read out loud. Now I hated the book.

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Roza," Dimitri said quietly so that the others couldn't hear him. His voice was soothing. Like a balm on a wound. I leaned further into him for comfort. "There is nothing wrong with being scared. Nothing wrong in showing weakness. You were about to be executed. No one thinks you are weak. No one here would judge you, you know that."

I knew that. Everyone here was close to me. They knew me. With that, I calmed down, whispering a quiet, "thank you. I needed that," to Dimitri. He smiled a half smile and kissed my cheek, calming me down further.

Sonya and Adrian were looking at me worriedly, probably guessing my mood by observing my aura. I smiled to show them that I was alright.

**I still didn't entirely know what all I'd inherited from Abe, but we seemed to clearly share one trait: an unflinching ability to deliver bad news.**

"You think." my mom said sarcastically.

I grinned at her, glad that she was lightening up. Then I realized it was her attempt to lighten _me_ up. I appreciated it.

'**Probably immediately.'**

'**Immediately.' I backed up, nearly sat on the bed, and then felt a new surge of**

**adrenaline. 'Immediately? So. Two weeks. In two weeks, I could be . . . dead.'**

Dimitri, mom, Abe and Lissa flinched while all others looked sad.

**Because that was the thing—the thing that had been hanging over my head **

**The moment it became clear someone had planted enough evidence to frame me. People who killed queens didn't get sent to prison. They were **_**executed**_**. **

"I still can't believe Aunt Tasha did that to you," Christian said in a low voice.

Everyone tensed. Even though no one had brought her up, I knew Tasha was present at the back of their minds. It was impossible to read about my time in prison without being reminded of who put me there, framed me for a murder with all intentions of seeing me executed. Still, I was surprised Christian brought it up. He always avoided talking about her. I could only imagine the extent of pain he was in. Lissa caught hold of his hand and squeezed it, lending him her strength. This made Christian smile a little. Then he glanced at me before saying "I am sorry Rose. For all the things she did to you".

I got up quickly and made my way over to him. I pulled him up and hugged him. "Don't be sorry, Christian. It wasn't your fault," I said in his ear. He nodded glumly, not believing me. I shot a look towards Lissa, asking her to take care of him and talk to him. I knew she was the only one who could make him understand. Just the way I was the one Dimitri listened to, poured his heart out to, when he was still suffering from his turning-strigoi-trauma. Not Lissa, no matter how many times she had told him to forgive himself, had assured him that the things he did when he was a strigoi was not his fault. He never believed her. But he had listened to me that night in the alley with Donovan. In the end, even if the whole world is screaming one thing at you, the only voice that will reach you is your other half's.

Lissa nodded and supported him back to his seat and I returned to mine, letting Dimitri hug me close. I laid my head on his shoulder and lightly kissed his cheek, soothing him. Tasha's betrayal had hurt him as much as, or rather, more than me. They had been good friends.

I sighed before motioning for Sydney to continue.

**Few crimes among Moroi and dhampirs got that kind of punishment. We tried to be civilized in our justice, showing we were better than the bloodthirsty Strigoi. But certain crimes, in the eyes of the law, deserved death. Certain people deserved it, too—say, like, treasonous murderers. As the full impact of the future fell upon me, I felt myself shake and tears come dangerously close to spilling out of my eyes.**

Everyone looked sad now. Lissa was on the verge of crying. Christian hugged her close, whispering something to her. Sydney and Adrian held each other's hands tightly. My mom, Abe and Eddie looked tormented. But Dimitri….the expression on his face was one of pure agony. He hated that I had suffered in the jail. He had confessed to me that he hadn't been able to stand the thought of me in jail. Now, realizing that the place had had such an effect on me that I had been close to crying made it all that much more difficult for him. I hugged him close and felt him relax. Then, I said aloud, "Guys, this is the past. I am here. Safe and sound. And as charming as ever."

That relaxed everyone.

'**That's not right!' I told Abe. 'That's not right, and you know it!'**

'**Doesn't matter what I think,' he said calmly. 'I'm simply delivering the facts.'**

'**Two weeks,' I repeated. 'What can we do in two weeks? I mean . . . you've got some lead, right? Or . . . or . . . you can find something by then? That's your specialty.' I was rambling and knew I sounded hysterical and desperate. Of course, that was because I felt hysterical and desperate.**

Again, the sympathetic looks. But it didn't ruin my mood. I remembered Dimitri's words and calmed down.

'**It's going to be difficult to accomplish much,' he explained. 'The Court's preoccupied with the funeral and elections. Things are disorderly—which is both good and bad.'**

**I knew about all the preparations from watching Lissa. I'd seen the chaos already brewing. Finding any sort of evidence in this mess wouldn't just be difficult. It could very well be impossible.**

"Ah! It's a good thing impossible situations are our specialty, right kizim?" Abe asked, grinning at me. That was certainly true.

_**Two weeks. Two weeks, and I could be dead**_

"No!" Lissa shouted vehemently, "I would never have let anything happen to you, Rose!"

I recognized the spirit darkness. Now that we no longer had the bond I couldn't pull away the darkness from Lissa. That was perhaps the only thing I hated about losing the bond.

Before I could say anything, Christian put his arms around her and stoked her hair, whispering softly. Everyone looked unnerved, everyone except Sonya and Adrian who had experienced the darkness and Dimitri and Sydney who had witnessed me suffering from darkness several times. I ignored the others and motioned for Sydney to continue.

'**I can't,' I told Abe, my voice breaking. 'I'm not . . . meant to die that way.'**

Several people arched their eyebrows. I looked away, scowling. I was soo jealous of them. Dimitri chuckled at me and I resisted an urge to elbow him.

'**Oh?' He arched an eyebrow. 'You know how you're supposed to die?'**

'**In battle.' One tear managed to escape, and I hastily wiped it away. I'd always lived my life with a tough image. **

"Of course you did!" remarked everyone at the same time. I poked my tongue out at them.

**I didn't want that shattering, not now when it mattered most of all. 'In fighting. Defending those I love. Not . . . not through some planned execution.'**

Lissa, mom and Dimitri smiled at me.

'**This is a fight of sorts,' he mused. 'Just not a physical one. Two weeks is still two weeks. Is it bad? Yes. But it's better than one week. And nothing's impossible. Maybe new evidence will turn up. You simply have to wait and see.'**

'**I hate waiting. This room . . . it's so small. I can't breathe. It'll kill me before any executioner does.'**

"Stop being so dramatic, Rose." chided mom softly.

"Yeah, well, I felt that way. So, shoot me!" I said, nettled.

"I know," Dimitri said sadly, "I felt that way too."

While I hated being reminded of my time in jail, I hated it even more that Dimitri had to listen to this. Not only would it make him remember the horrible time that he had spent in jail but hearing me suffer only depressed him further. I leaned my head on his shoulder, hoping to soothe him. I smiled when I felt him relax.

'**I highly doubt it.' Abe's expression was still cool, with no sign of sympathy. Tough love. **

Abe grinned. I swear all he has been doing is grinning and smirking with occasional smartass comments. It was getting on my nerves.

'**You've fearlessly fought groups of Strigoi, yet you can't handle a small room?'**

'**It's more than that! Now I have to wait each day in this hole, knowing there's a clock ticking down to my death and almost no way to stop it.'**

'**Sometimes the greatest tests of our strength are situations that don't seem so obviously dangerous. Sometimes surviving is the hardest thing of all.'**

'**Oh. No. **_**No**_**.' I stalked away, pacing in small circles. 'Do not start with all that noble crap. You sound like Dimitri when he used to give me his deep life lessons.'**

Dimitri raised an eyebrow at this.

'**He survived this very situation. He's surviving other things too.'**

**Dimitri.**

**I took a deep breath,**

Sydney took a deep breath, imitating me. Adrian, Eddie and Christian laughed while I narrowed my eyes. I would have expected it of Adrian but Sydney…hmm…..looks like she is getting all smartass by dating Adrian.

**calming myself before I answered. Until this murder mess, Dimitri had been the biggest complication in my life.**

"Just a complication?" Dimitri asked, feigning hurt.

"Yes," I replied, teasing him, "you were nothing but a complication."

He poked me playfully while I laughed.

**A year ago—though it seemed like eternity—he'd been my instructor in high school, training me to be one of the dhampir guardians who protect Moroi. He'd accomplished that—and a lot more. **

"Oh he did, did he?" laughed Eddie, "he accomplished stealing your heart, eh?"

Dimitri blushed while everyone but my parents chuckled. I was momentarily distracted by his blush. He looked so cute! _Concentrate Rose,_ I told myself, _get back at Eddie now. There would be time for Russian fantasies later_. "You would know all about stealing hearts, Eddie. Where is your princess, huh? I trust you have been keeping her happy."

Now it was Eddie's turn to blush. He and Jill had been dating for a while now. The way he treated her reminded me of a loyal knight serving his lady. Lissa, Sydney and I never ceased to tease him about Jill.

"You asked for it, man," remarked Adrian, chortling "you know better than to tease Rose Hathaway."

**We'd fallen in love, something that wasn't allowed. We'd managed it as best we could, even finally coming up with a way for us to be together. That hope had disappeared when he'd been bitten and turned Strigoi. **

Dimitri flinched. I squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.

**It had been a living nightmare for me.**

Dimitri buried his face in my hair, trying to calm himself. No one noticed the change in him for which I was thankful.

**Then, through a miracle no one had believed possible, Lissa had used spirit to transform him back to a dhampir. But things unfortunately hadn't quite returned to how they'd been before the Strigoi attack.**

"I am sorry, Roza," whispered Dimitri. I smiled at him, letting him know it was fine. He gave me a small smile in return.

**I glared at Abe. 'Dimitri survived this, but he was horribly depressed about it! He still is. About everything.'**

**The full weight of the atrocities he'd committed as a Strigoi haunted Dimitri. He couldn't forgive himself and swore he could never love anyone now.**

"Now I have forgiven myself. All because of you," said Dimitri, looking deep into my eyes.

I smiled, "I know! I am awesome, right?"

He chuckled before whispering, "That you are Roza that you are."

I quickly turned to face the others before I did something like kiss him. That wouldn't go well with my parents.

**The fact that I had begun dating Adrian didn't help matters. After a number of futile efforts, I'd accepted that Dimitri and I were through. I'd moved on, hoping I could have something real with Adrian now.**

"We never had something real, little dhampir," Adrian said seriously, "never did", before grinning, "You were meant for the cradle robber and I was meant for my celery stick".

We all laughed at the ridiculous nickname except Sydney who smacked Adrian on the back of his head.

'**Right,' Abe said dryly. 'He's depressed, but you're the picture of happiness and joy.'**

**I sighed. 'Sometimes talking to you is like talking to myself: pretty damned annoying.**

That made everyone laugh even more.

"Glad you realize that you two are alike," mom said, grinning while Christian choked out, "glad you realized that talking to you is annoying." I crossed my arms and huffed, glaring at the opposite wall.

**Is there any other reason you're here? Other than to deliver the terrible news? I would have been happier living in ignorance.'**

_**I'm not supposed to die this way. I'm not supposed to see it coming. My death is not some appointment penciled in on a calendar.**_

"It really is not!" I said to myself.

**He shrugged. 'I just wanted to see you. And your arrangements.'**

**Yes, he had indeed, I realized. Abe's eyes had always come back to me as we spoke; there'd been no question I held his attention. There was nothing in our banter to concern my guards. But every so often, I'd see Abe's gaze flick around, taking in the hall, my cell, and whatever other details he found interesting. Abe had not earned his reputation as **_**zmey**_**—the serpent—for nothing.**

Sydney shuddered lightly. I still didn't know what the deal between her and my old man was. She always seems scared of him and had even gone on run with me because he asked her to. Like Dimitri had observed in the Rubysville library, it must be something more than getting her out of Russia.

**He was always calculating, always looking for an advantage.**

He smiled creepily, looking like an evil mastermind.

**It seemed my tendency toward crazy plots ran in the family.**

Everyone laughed, looking as if they agreed with me.

'**I also wanted to help you pass the time.' He smiled and from under his arm, he handed me a couple of magazines and a book through the bars. 'Maybe this will improve things.'**

"A book would improve things for Rose?" Christian asked incredulously. "She would probably try to throw it on the guardians."

What could I say? I was never fond of books and that idea had indeed entered my head. Dimitri shook his head at me, knowing that I had thought of throwing the book on the guardians.

**I doubted any entertainment was going to make my two-week death countdown more manageable. The magazines were fashion and hair oriented. **

Adrian opened his mouth to say something but Sydney continued, not giving him an opportunity to make any remarks. I was grateful. I wanted to finish reading this book quickly.

**The book was **_**The Count**__**of Monte Cristo**_**. I held it up, needing to make a joke, needing to do anything to make this less real.**

"Would a joke make it not real?" asked Mikhail curiously. I shrugged. Jokes were an old stand-by for me. I used it when I was scared, when I felt I was getting emotional or when I just wanted a distraction from everything happening.

'**I saw the movie. Your subtle symbolism isn't really all that subtle. Unless you've hidden a file inside it.'**

"Wouldn't put it past you, old man," I said, grinning at Abe. He returned my grin with, "you would know, little girl."

'**The book's always better than the movie.' He started to turn away. 'Maybe we'll have a literary discussion next time.**'

Everyone cracked up laughing, probably imagining Abe and me discussing books in a dark musty library. I had to admit it was pretty hilarious. At least, my mental image was.

'**Wait.' I tossed the reading material onto the bed. 'Before you go . . . in this whole mess, no one's ever brought up who actually did kill her.' When Abe didn't answer right away, I gave him a sharp look. 'You **_**do **_**believe I didn't do it, right?' For all I knew, he did think I was guilty and was just trying to help anyway. It wouldn't have been out of character.**

"Of course I didn't believe that you murdered Tatiana," Abe said, defending himself.

'**I believe my sweet daughter is capable of murder,' he said at last. 'But not this one.'**

Abe smirked…..again! God…he was just so annoying! Now I realize why people found me annoying at times…I had inherited the art of getting on people's nerves from him!

'**Then who did it?'**

'**That,' he said before walking away, 'is something I'm working on.'**

'**But you just said we're running out of time! Abe!' I didn't want him to leave.**

"Love you too little girl," Abe said, smirking smugly. I rolled my eyes.

**I didn't want to be alone with my fear. 'There's no way to fix this!'**

'**Just remember what I said in the courtroom,' he called back.**

**He left my sight, and I sat back on the bed, thinking back to that day in court. At the end of the hearing, he'd told me—quite adamantly—that I wouldn't be executed. Or even go to trial. Abe Mazur wasn't one to make idle promises, but I was starting to think that even he had limits, **

"Never." said the man in question.

**especially since our timetable had just been adjusted.**

**I again took out the crumpled piece of paper and opened it. It too had come from the courtroom, covertly handed to me by Ambrose—Tatiana's servant and boy-toy.**

I saw recognition light up in Lissa's and Dimitri's eyes.

Before Sydney started reading, I said loudly, "don't interrupt Sydney till she finishes reading the note".

Everyone nodded, looking mystified. I smirked at their expressions. Sydney read-

_**Rose,**_

_**If you're reading this, then something terrible has happened. You probably hate me, and I don't blame you. I can only ask that you trust that what I did with the age decree was better for your people than what others had planned. There are some Moroi who want to force **_**all **_**dhampirs into service, whether they want it or not, by using compulsion. The age decree has slowed that faction down.**_

_**However, I write to you with a secret you must put right, and it is a secret you must share with as few as possible. Vasilisa needs her spot on the Council, and it can be done. She is not the last Dragomir. Another lives, the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir.**_

_**I know nothing else, but if you can find this son or daughter, you will give Vasilisa the power she deserves. No matter your faults and dangerous temperament, you are the only one I feel can take on this task. Waste no time in fulfilling it.**_

—_**Tatiana Ivashkov**_

"WHAT?" exclaimed several people.

"My great-aunt left you a note?" Adrian asked, shocked.

"_You_, whom she hated?" Eddie asked, just as baffled.

"A note about Jill?" Christian asked, stupefied.

"Yes yes yes" I answered, "she did write me a note about Lissa's sibling. She believed that I could find the missing Dragomir. If you had listened carefully, you would know that she trusted me with the task even if she hated my guts."

The trio nodded, still looking stunned. Shock was still etched on all faces except Dimitri and Lissa. I had told both of them about the note, Dimitri while on the run and Lissa after her coronation.

**The words hadn't changed since the other hundred times I'd read them, nor had the questions they always triggered. Was the note true? Had Tatiana really written it? Had she—in spite of her outwardly hostile attitude—trusted me with this dangerous knowledge? There were twelve royal families who made decisions for the Moroi, **

Everyone was still in a state of shock to make any smartass comments.

**but for all intents and purposes, there might as well have only been eleven.**

"Not anymore." Lissa said, smiling brightly. I knew she was very happy to see the Dragomir line get its due respect. That was entirely because of her. She was turning out to be the best queen of them all.

**Lissa was the last of her line, and without another member of the Dragomir family, Moroi law said she had no power to sit on and vote with the Council that made our decisions. Some pretty bad laws had already been made,**

All the dhampirs in the room nodded.

**and if the note was true, more would come. Lissa could fight those laws—and some people wouldn't like that, people who had already demonstrated their willingness to kill.**

**Another Dragomir.**

Lissa breathed deeply. Even if she had accepted Jill and treated her like a sister, the idea of her father cheating on her mother still tormented her.

**Another Dragomir meant Lissa could vote. One more Council vote could change so much. It could change the Moroi world. It could change my world—say, like, whether I was found guilty or not. And certainly, it could change Lissa's world. All this time she'd believed she was alone. Yet . . . I uneasily wondered if she'd welcome a half-sibling. **

"No, I wouldn't have. In fact, I didn't." Lissa whispered, remembering how she had treated Jill at the beginning.

"Hey!" I said, just as softly, "You were justified. The whole thing was a huge shock to you. You needed time to process it all. Now look how close you are with Jill. Everything is fine now."

Lissa visibly relaxed and mouthed a silent _thank you_. I just smiled at her. Christian and Dimitri smiled at us, marveling at our friendship.

**I accepted that my father was a scoundrel, **

"Hey!" exclaimed Abe indignantly while my mom was unsuccessfully trying to control her giggles. Abe looked between me and mom, pouting. I laughed, seeing him like that. He sure was something else.

**but Lissa had always held hers up on a pedestal, believing the best of him. **

Lissa nodded, confirming my statement and snuggled into Christian, seeking his comfort.

**This news would come as a shock, and although I'd trained my entire life to keep her safe from physical threats, I was starting to think there were other things she needed to be protected from as well.**

"You never just protected me from physical threats, Rose." Lissa said, smiling at me warmly. "Need I recount the countless things you sheltered me from?"

I just smiled at her and shook my head slightly.

Dimitri looked at me, wrapped me up in his arms and whispered, "she is right, Roza. Your dedication level is amazing."

Sydney continued before I could reply so I settled for hugging him closer to me.

**But first, **_**I **_**needed the truth. I had to know if this note had really come from Tatiana. I was pretty sure I could find out, but it involved something I hated doing.**

Several people leaned forward, wondering what I would do.

**Well, why not? It wasn't like I had anything else to do right now.**

**Rising from the bed, I turned my back to the bars and stared at the blank wall, using it as a focus point. Bracing myself, remembering that I was strong enough to keep control, I released the mental barriers I always subconsciously kept around my mind. A great pressure lifted from me, like air escaping a balloon.**

I could see everyone almost holding their breath in anticipation.

**And suddenly, I was surrounded by ghosts.**

Those who didn't know about the shadow kissed abilities that I had had looked confused. Lissa, Sonya and Adrian were the most curious, wondering how the darkness enabled the shadow kissed to see ghosts. Dimitri looked mortified for a second before his guardian mask was back. I sighed. I had a LOT of explaining to do….

**Please review and let me know what you think about this chapter….**


	3. Reading chapter two

**Hey! Thank you soo much for the reviews :D special thanks to my amazing friend Namrata for assisting me **

**I am really sorry for the delay….here is the 2****nd**** chapter read aloud. It is in Dimka's pov…I hope you enjoy it **

**DISCLAIMER****: I do not own any of the characters. They all belong to Richelle mead.**

**DPOV**

After a thorough explanation from Rose about the shadow kissed powers, which left everyone either shocked or awestruck, we settled down to read again. Eddie had the book this time. It was very interesting to read my Roza's thoughts. I wonder where the book actually ends. Does it cover the hotel room? Thinking about it made me smile and I hugged Roza tighter, running a hand through her hair as I turned my attention to Eddie as he began reading.

**A****S ALWAYS, IT WAS DISORIENTING. Faces and skulls, translucent and luminescent, all hovered around me. They were drawn to me, swarming in a cloud as though they all desperately needed to say something.**

I hated that Rose could see ghosts. I hated that she suffered so much. When she had first told me about it, I had been skeptical, but I should have known better. Rose wasn't an average teenage girl, she never had been. Marked with death at such a young age, she knew things and understood things much better than most people.

**And really, they probably did. The ghosts that lingered in this world were restless souls who had reasons that kept them from moving on. When Lissa had brought me back from the dead, I'd kept a connection to their world. **

I felt Rose take a deep breath. I stroked her hair, comforting her.

**It had taken a lot of work and self-control to learn to block out the phantoms that followed me. The magical wards that protected the Moroi Court actually kept most ghosts away from me, but this time, I wanted them here. Giving them that access, drawing them in . . . well, it was a dangerous thing.**

Rose had told me that Mark had warned her not to draw the ghosts to herself. But she did it anyway. She never was one to shy away from taking risks, dangerous ones at that. Truly, my Roza was one of a kind.

**Something told me that if ever there was a restless spirit, it would be a queen who had been murdered in her own bed. I saw no familiar faces among this group but didn't give up hope.**

She never did. Persistence was one of her most wonderful qualities.

'**Tatiana,' I murmured, focusing my thoughts on the dead queen's face. 'Tatiana, come to me.'**

Christian and Eddie burst out laughing while Rose glared at them.

"That sounded so wrong," Christian said, hiccupping.

"Get your minds out of the gutter," Rose admonished the two. I was surprised that Adrian hadn't said anything. He looked as if the thought of making a joke like that about his aunt made him sick. After Eddie calmed down, he resumed reading.

**I had once been able to summon one ghost easily: my friend Mason, who'd been killed by Strigoi.**

Eddie's voice was filled with pain on reading his best friend's name. Roza looked sad.

I knew she missed him. They both missed him a lot.

**While Tatiana and I weren't as close as Mason and I had been, we certainly had a connection.**

"You certainly did." Lissa said, amused. Rose just grimaced at her.

**For a while, nothing happened. The same blur of faces swirled before me in the cell, and I began to despair. Then, all of a sudden, she was there.**

Adrian drew in a deep breath, leaning forward in his seat in anticipation. Everyone looked curious.

**She stood in the clothes she'd been murdered in, a long nightgown and robe covered in blood. Her colors were muted, flickering like a malfunctioning TV screen. **

I could see Christian restraining himself from commenting. He wasn't insensitive to the tense air on the room.

**Nonetheless, the crown on her head and regal stance gave her the same queenly air I remembered. Once she materialized, she said and did nothing. She simply stared at me, her dark gaze practically piercing my soul. A tangle of emotions tightened in my chest. That gut reaction I always got around Tatiana—anger and resentment—flared up. **

Rose glanced at Adrian guiltily. He wasn't looking at her. His eyes were downcast. Sydney hugged him, attempting to comfort him.

**Then, it was muddled by a surprising wave of sympathy. No one's life should end the way hers had.**

Adrian looked like he was holding back tears. I felt sorry for him. He had been through a lot. He was a good guy. I respected him. I wouldn't have said that when I had just met him but now….I could see how much he had matured from the player he had been. Sydney had really changed him. Eddie hesitantly continued.

**I hesitated, afraid the guards would hear me. Somehow, I had a feeling the volume of my voice didn't matter, and none of them could see what I saw. I held up the note.**

'**Did you write this?' I breathed. 'Is it true?'**

**She continued to stare. Mason's ghost had behaved similarly.**

I remembered Rose telling me that Mason's ghost never spoke to her, that he just looked sad. It had caused a lot of frustration to build up in her, not knowing what he wanted.

**Summoning the dead was one thing; communicating with them was a whole other matter.**

Rose nodded solemnly, agreeing with her words. I hated seeing her in a grim mood. But the topic was such….

'**I have to know. If there is another Dragomir, I'll find them.'**

I raised an eyebrow at her, wondering how on earth she was able to make that promise when she was locked up. She grinned up at me and looked at Eddie as he continued.

**No point in drawing attention to the fact that I was in no position to find anything or anyone.**

She looked at me pointedly. I shook my head- Rose logic again.

'**But you have to tell me. Did you write this letter? Is it true?'**

**Only that maddening gaze answered me. My frustration grew, and the pressure of all those spirits began to give me a headache. **

I remembered that time in the flight when Rose had got a killer headache. We had been flying from The Court, back to Vladimir's. I had felt so helpless, powerless to do anything when Roza screamed out in pain and fainted. She had scared me to death. I could never stand to see her in pain.

I pulled Roza closer to me now, as if I could block out any pain.

**Apparently, Tatiana was as annoying in death as she had been in life.**

"Sorry," Rose mouthed to Adrian, twisting in my arms to look at him. Both Adrian and Sydney smiled at her and she smiled back before shifting in my arms again to get comfortable.

**I was about to bring my walls back and push the ghosts away when Tatiana made the smallest of movements. It was a tiny nod, barely noticeable. Her hard eyes then shifted down to the note in my hand, and just like that—she was gone.**

**I slammed my barriers back up, using all my will to close myself off from the dead.**

Lissa and Sydney shivered.

**The headache didn't disappear, but those faces did****.**

I noticed that Abe and Janine, who had been looking at Rose in concern since the beginning of the chapter, relaxed a little when they heard that the ghosts disappeared. They really loved her; they just didn't know how to show it.

**I sank back on the bed and stared at the note without seeing it. There was my answer. The note was real. Tatiana had written it. Somehow, I doubted her ghost had any reason to lie.**

**Stretching out, I rested my head on the pillow and waited for that terrible throbbing to go away. **

Lissa looked guilty, as if she was the cause of Rose's headache. Knowing her, she probably felt guilty that she cursed Rose to this fate. But she had brought Rose back to life for which I was grateful. Rose noticed Lissa's guilty look and glared at her, shaking her head slightly. It wasn't her typical angry glare that made almost everyone quiver in fear. It was a gentle glare, a disapproving one. Lissa stopped looking guilty and smiled at Rose. I smiled inwardly. My Roza sure knew how to make others feel better.

**I closed my eyes and used the spirit bond to return and see what Lissa had been doing. Since my arrest, she'd been busy pleading and arguing on my behalf, so I expected to find more of the same. Instead she was . . . dress shopping.**

Mikhail, Sonya, Abe, Janine, Sydney and Eddie looked at Lissa in shock. I knew what they were thinking. Even I was thinking the same thing. Lissa had been dress shopping when her best friend was in jail? But there must be some other reason. I knew how much Lissa loved Rose so it was highly unlikely that Lissa was enjoying her time when Rose was in jail. Lissa blushed slightly under the scrutiny before asking Eddie to continue.

**I was almost offended at my best friend's frivolity **

Lissa playfully glared at Rose who poked her tongue out at the queen.

**until I realized she was looking for a funeral dress.**

That made sense. I saw understanding in everyone's eyes.

**She was in one of the Court's tucked away stores, one that catered to royal families. To my surprise, Adrian was with her. Seeing his familiar, handsome face eased some of the fear in me. **

Adrian winked at her and said, "always knew you loved me, little dhampir" in an off-hand tone. This made Rose roll her eyes. They were quite close to each other now. Adrian was happy with Sydney and Rose was with me. I had to admit, I was grateful that Adrian had been there for her when I couldn't.

**A quick probe of her mind told me why he was here: she'd talked him into coming because she didn't want him left alone. I could understand why. He was completely drunk.**

Sydney grimaced slightly at this. Thankfully, she had gotten Adrian to stop all his bad habits.

**It was a wonder he could stand, and in fact, I strongly suspected the wall he leaned against was all that held him up. His brown hair was a mess—and not in the purposeful way he usually styled it. His deep green eyes were bloodshot. **

Sydney looked disapprovingly at Adrian who, noticing her look leaned in and kissed her cheek, whispering something in her ear.

**Like Lissa, Adrian was a spirit user. He had an ability she didn't yet: he could visit people's dreams. I'd expected him to come to me since my imprisonment, and now it made sense why he hadn't. Alcohol stunted spirit. **

Adrian nodded.

**In some ways, that was a good thing. Excessive spirit created a darkness that drove its users insane. **

I saw Sonya, Adrian and Lissa nod. I remembered how Rose had spiraled out of control, both in Vladimir's and with Victor Dashkov. I could see that Rose was thinking the same thing now. She looked….guilty, probably remembering the way she had acted. It wasn't her fault and though she had accepted it, she sometimes felt guilty. I squeezed her shoulders comfortingly as she leaned into me.

**But spending life perpetually drunk wasn't all that healthy either.**

**Seeing him through Lissa's eyes triggered emotional confusion nearly as intense as what I'd experienced with Tatiana. **

Emotional confusion? Adrian raised his eyebrows, just as confused as I was.

**I felt bad for him. He was obviously worried and upset about me, and the startling events this last week had blindsided him as much as the rest of us. **

Poor guy, he really had loved Rose. Even though I loved Roza unconditionally, I hated that we had hurt him so much by getting back together. But, he had told us that he had forgiven us, had understood our reasons now that he had found his soul mate. I was brought out of my musings when Eddie said, "blindsided? And Ivashkov? Like that would happen."

"Never thought that would happen to you, man" Christian said, laughing with everyone else.

"Bet he didn't like that." Sydney added, fondly.

"Ah, you know me, little cupcake. I can't help that I am so startlingly gorgeous that I, pretty much am, the centre of attention," Adrian said, brushing his hair back in a movie-worthy pose.

Everyone burst out laughing at Adrian ridiculous show.

**He'd also lost his aunt whom, despite her brusque attitude, he'd cared for. Yet, in spite of all this, I felt . . . scorn. **

"I am sorry," Rose said in a small voice, hating that she had felt like that. "I really couldn't help it."

"Its fine, little dhampir," Adrian said, smiling at Rose's sad face, "I guess I kinda deserved it."

"You sure did," Sydney and Lissa muttered under their breaths.

**That was unfair, perhaps, but I couldn't help it. I cared about him so much **

Adrian smiled at Rose.

**and understood him being upset, but there were better ways of dealing with his loss. His behavior was almost cowardly.**

Sydney nodded.

**He was hiding from his problems in a bottle, something that went against every piece of my nature.**

"Every piece of your nature?" Christian asked, amused. "Your nature is in pieces?"

Eddie laughed loudly while Lissa smacked her boyfriend's arm. Rose simply opted to glare at Christian and Eddie.

**Me? I couldn't let my problems win without a fight.**

"That is why we ultimately weren't meant for each other," Adrian said wisely, winking at Rose.

Rose muttered "copycat" before glaring at him. Seeing everyone's inquisitive look, she explained, "That's what I told him long back. Now he is shoving my words back at me"

Everyone laughed. She looked so disgruntled in that moment, so cute, that I had to lean in and peck her perfect lips. She smiled as I pulled away, sighing happily before resting her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her before turning my attention to Eddie.

'**Velvet,' the shopkeeper told Lissa with certainty. The wizened Moroi woman held up a voluminous, long-sleeved gown. 'Velvet is traditional in the royal escort.' Along with the rest of the fanfare, Tatiana's funeral would have a ceremonial escort walking alongside the coffin, with a representative from each family there. Apparently, no one minded that Lissa fill that role for her family. But voting? That was another matter.**

Everyone nodded.

**Lissa eyed the dress. It looked more like a Halloween costume than a funeral gown.**

Lissa, Christian and Adrian laughed, agreeing with Rose while the rest looked amused. I was sure that, had Rose been there, she would have said that out loud to the shopkeeper.

'**It's ninety degrees out,' said Lissa. 'And humid.'**

'**Tradition demands sacrifice,' the woman said melodramatically. 'As does tragedy.'**

Christian rolled his eyes, muttering something about stupid royals. I knew he hated the whole lot of them. We both usually skipped council meetings as he, in his own words, "would rather eat dung that listen to those shitty people argue about what would make their lives even more comfortable." Him skipping meeting annoyed Lissa to no end but she knew how much the royals irritated him. So she would bear it. Rose was the one who would be the most annoyed since she had to attend the council meetings with Lissa and Christian could walk free.

**Adrian opened his mouth, undoubtedly ready with some inappropriate and mocking comment. **

Sydney sighed.

**Lissa gave him a sharp headshake that kept him quiet. 'Aren't there any, I don't know, sleeveless options?'**

**The saleswoman's eyes widened. 'No one has ever worn straps to a royal funeral. It wouldn't be right.'**

Lissa rolled her eyes. I looked at Rose, wondering why she wasn't speaking much. She looked out of it as she played with my shirt button, the topmost one, undoing it and redoing it. I was about to talk to her when Eddie continued.

'**What about shorts?' asked Adrian. 'Are they okay if they're with a tie? Because that's what I was gonna go with.'**

Christian and Eddie fell on the floor laughing. Sonya and Mikhail held each other for support and even the tough Abe Mazur and Janine Hathaway were trying to catch their breath. Sydney was shaking with quite laughter and even I couldn't help but chuckle. All of us were imagining Adrian in that getup. Roza looked up when I laughed, a beautiful smile lighting her face before she ducked her head down to play with the button again. Lissa was smiling in amusement, looking over at everyone. Once calm, Eddie continued.

**The woman looked horrified. Lissa shot Adrian a look of disdain, not so much because of the remark—which she found mildly amusing—but because she too was disgusted by his constant state of intoxication.**

Lissa just shrugged as Adrian playfully glared at her.

"You show him, Lissa." Christian said excitedly.

Before anyone could reply, Rose said mildly, "You really have lost it, Christian."

Eddie nodded and continued while I turned to Rose and whispered, "Why aren't you paying attention?"

She just shrugged, playing with my hands now. Then she muttered, "I remember all this. What's the use of listening to it?"

That was true. I turned my attention back to Eddie, but I wasn't unaware Rose's warm hands playing with mine.

Eddie was in the middle of a sentence…**stratification of our world. The woman walked across the store to find the requested****dresses, just as Lissa's boyfriend and his aunt entered the shop.****Christian Ozera, I thought, was who Adrian should have been acting like. **

"WHAT?" Christian and Adrian exclaimed at the same time.

"You. Are. Complimenting. Me?" Christian spluttered just as Adrian asked, "You wanted me to act like _him_?"

Both looked so thoroughly shocked that everyone laughed at them. Rose smirked devilishly at them both, looking interested all of a sudden as opposed to her bored mood just moments back.

She said, "Before Eddie continues, I just want to say that this is the first and last time I have ever complimented Christian."

"I knew you would realize just how amazing I am, Rose" Christian said, smirking at her.

"If you are classified as amazing, I sure am classified as dazzlingly amazing," Rose replied, just as snarkily.

Eddie continued before Christian and Rose would engage in a verbal battle while everyone shook their heads at Rose's choice of words.

**The fact that****I could even think like that was startling. **

"It sure was," Lissa chirped, looking incredibly happy that her best friend had complimented her boyfriend.

**Times had certainly changed from when I held Christian up as a role model. **

Eddie, Adrian and Lissa nodded while Christian's smirk grew bigger.

"Don't get used to it, Christian," Rose warned.

**But it was true. I'd watched him with Lissa this last week,****and Christian had been determined and steadfast, doing whatever he could to help her****in the wake of Tatiana's death and my arrest. **

Lissa smiled at Christian and kissed him. Rose and I just looked at each other exasperatedly. Being their guardians and their closest friends, we knew better than anyone how Christian and Lissa couldn't keep their hands off each other. According to Rose, they had always been this way, since they got together in Vladimir's.

**From the look on his face now, it was****obvious he had something important to relay.****His outspoken aunt, Tasha Ozera, **

Everyone tensed.

**was another study in strength and grace under****pressure.**

That she was. Despite everything she had done, I couldn't help but feel sad whenever I thought of her. She had been my close friend, one who I believed I could trust at all times. She betrayed me. Sensing my sadness, Roza tightened her arms around me, providing me the comfort I needed. Roza really was an amazingly woman. Just by looking at me, she could tell I was sad even though I was sure my face didn't betray my emotions and she would try her best to cheer me up.

**She'd raised him after his parents had turned Strigoi—and had attacked her,****leaving Tasha with scarring on one side of her face. **

It had taken Tasha several years to get used to the scar on her face. I had assured her that the scar didn't lessen her beauty, that she was still beautiful. But her beauty never had held any appeal to me. Until Roza came along, I never actually knew the meaning of the word 'beautiful'. It was only Roza's beauty that affected me, both her inner and outer beauty.

**Moroi had always relied on****guardians for defense, but after that attack, Tasha had decided to take matters into her****own hands. She'd learned to fight, training with all sorts of hand-to-hand methods and****weapons. She was really quite a badass and constantly pushed for other Moroi to learn combat too.**

She indeed was quite skilled in Martial Arts.

**Lissa let go of a dress she'd been examining and turned to Christian eagerly. After me, there was no one else she trusted more in the world.**

Again, Lissa and Christian smiled at each other and kissed.

**He'd been her rock throughout all of this. He looked around the store, not appearing overly thrilled to be surrounded by dresses. 'You guys are shopping?' he asked, glancing from Lissa to Adrian. 'Getting in a little girl time?'**

Sydney laughed while Adrian glared at Christian. Christian looked supremely unconcerned.

'**Hey, you'd benefit from a wardrobe change,' said Adrian. 'Besides, I bet you'd look great in a halter top.'**

"Yeah, _Chrissy_. You would indeed look better in a halter top," Rose said, smirking.

"Better than usual?" Adrian asked, "Cause that wouldn't take much, you know"

"Hey, watch it" Christian threatened.

"Or what, _chrissy?" _ Eddie asked, trying to hold in his laugh. Even Lissa and Sydney were smiling at their banter while the others looked mildly amused. I just shook my head. Bantering was their normal behavior.

**Lissa ignored the guys' banter and focused on the Ozeras. 'What did you find out?' **

'**They've decided not to take action,' said Christian. His lips curled in disdain. 'Well, not any punishment kind of action.'**

What is going on?

**Tasha nodded. 'We're trying to push the idea that he just thought Rose was in danger and jumped in before he realized what was actually happening.'**

Oh. They were talking about me.

**My heart stopped. Dimitri. They were talking about Dimitri.**

I raised my eyebrow at Rose, wondering about her reaction but she just shook her head at me, smiling slightly.

**For a moment, I was no longer with Lissa. I was no longer in my cell. Instead, I was back to the day of my arrest.**

I remember that day perfectly. It was one of my worst days, not knowing what happened to Roza, wondering whether she was alright and why she was blamed for the murder….

**I'd been arguing with Dimitri in a café, scolding him for his continued refusal to talk to me, **

Scolding me? I never saw it that way. Realizing what I was thinking, Rose smirked.

**let alone continue our former relationship.**

I honestly had believed that I didn't love her. What a fool I was!

"You weren't a fool, Dimitri" Roza whispered in my ear, once again guessing my thoughts correctly. "You just needed time."

I wasn't convinced but I nodded. Roza sighed, knowing that I was still brooding over it.

**I'd decided then that I was done with him, **

That hurt. But she was more than justified. After all, I was the one who pushed her away.

**that things were truly over and that I wouldn't let him keep tearing my heart apart. **

I knew how badly I had hurt her. I bowed my head, hearing the statement that confirmed my thought. Rose squeezed my hand comfortingly gave me a peck on the lips.

**That was when the guardians had come for me, and no matter what Dimitri claimed about his Strigoi-time making him unable to love, he had reacted with lightning speed in my defense**.

At that time, all I knew was that I had to defend her, no matter what.

**We'd been hopelessly outnumbered, but he hadn't cared. The look on his face—and my own uncanny understanding of him—had told me all I needed to know. I was facing a threat. He had to defend me.**

She had known then. Of course she had.

**And defend me he had. He'd fought like the god he'd been back at St. Vladimir's Academy, **

The_ god_ thing again. I don't know who put it in her head but she always saw me as some battle god. I still wondered how she could see me like that in spite of knowing my flaws. She was the actual goddess, _my goddess._

**when he'd taught me how to battle Strigoi. He incapacitated more guardians in that café than one man should have been able to.**

Rose grinned at me, looking proud. I just smiled at her.

**The only thing that had ended it— and I truly believe he would have fought until his last breath—had been my intervention.**

Yes, if she hadn't interfered, I don't think I would have stopped till I had incapacitated all guardians or till I was defeated.

**I hadn't known at the time what was going on or why a legion of guardians would want to arrest me. But I had realized that Dimitri was in serious danger of harming his already fragile status around Court.**

There she was, thinking about _my_ well being when _she_ was the one in danger. But that's how Roza is, putting everyone before her, even the one who broke her heart.

**A Strigoi being restored was unheard of, and many still didn't trust him. I'd begged Dimitri to stop, more afraid of what would happen to him than me. **

That day, when I had realized that she was worried about me, I was overcome by confusion, wondering why she would think about me, care about me when all I did was hurt her. Later on, in my room, I had puzzled over it all night. I just wrote it off to Rose's caring nature. Many people who didn't know her well usually believed that Rose didn't care about people's feeling but that wasn't true. She cared a lot. She just didn't show it.

**Little had I known what was in store for me. He'd come to my hearing—under guard—but neither Lissa nor I had seen him since. Lissa had been working hard to clear him of any wrongdoing, fearing they'd lock him up again. And me? I'd been trying to tell myself not to over-think what he had done. My arrest and potential execution took precedence. Yet . . . I still wondered. Why had he done it?**

"Because, despite telling myself that I couldn't love anyone, my love for you was always there, just buried under all the guilt I felt." I whispered in Roza's ear, needing to make it clear to her. She smiled beautifully at me, making my breath catch. She really was a goddess.

**Why had he risked his life for mine? **

"Because he loved you, duh" Christian said, rolling his eyes. But Roza didn't seem to hear him, looking lost in thought as she lay in my arms.

**Was it an instinctive reaction to a threat?**

_No. _Instinctive reaction couldn't quite give the zeal to fight that I had possessed that day.

**Had he done it as a favor to Lissa, whom he'd sworn to help in return for freeing him?**

_No. _Of course not. Lissa hadn't even crossed my mind when I had defended Roza. It was true that when I was restored, I held Lissa as my savior. And to an extent she was. She had taken a great risk in trying to stake me. She had comforted me when I needed it, just as a mother would comfort a child. And I would always remain grateful to her. But, I had soon realized that Roza was my real savior. Not just because she was the one who found out about restoring strigoi at great personal risk, not just because she had never truly given up. It was because she was the one who helped me peel off my strigoi trauma, made me forgive myself, essentially giving me a new life.

**Or had he truly done it because he still had feelings for me?**

"Of course." Sonya, Christian, Eddie and Adrian said simultaneously while Lissa, Sydney and Mikhail smiled. Rose just rolled her eyes and I pulled her even closer to me, if that was possible.

**I still didn't know the answer, but seeing him like that, like the fierce Dimitri from my past, had stirred up the feelings I was so desperately trying to get over. **

I smiled. That earned me an elbow from Roza.

**I kept trying to assure myself that recovering from a relationship took time. Lingering feelings were natural. **

"We both were such fools," Roza said quietly. I agreed with her that I was a fool. I should have realized that my love for her would never fade. It wasn't Roza's fault at all. I was the one who pushed her away. Rose elbowed me in the gut again, reading my thoughts easily.

**Unfortunately, it took longer to get over a guy when he threw himself into danger for you.**

Everyone smiled at that. Even Abe and Janine. Roza whispered, "I really am lucky."

I don't think she meant me to hear it.

How wrong she was! I was the lucky one. Rather than tell her that, I just tilted Roza's face upward and pressed a kiss to her lips. I pulled away pretty quickly though because I really wasn't one for public displays. Roza knew that and for once didn't tease me about it. Eddie started reading again.

**Regardless, Christian and Tasha's words gave me hope about Dimitri's fate. After all, I wasn't the only one walking a tenuous line between life and death. **

I didn't really care if I was walking the line between life and death but thinking of Roza in that situation was not pleasant.

**Those convinced Dimitri was still Strigoi wanted to see a stake through his heart.**

'**They're keeping him confined again,' said Christian. 'But not in a cell. Just in his room, with a couple of guards. They don't want him out around Court until things settle down.'**

I hadn't known that he too had been working to release me. This just strengthened my belief that he wasn't the annoying, sarcastic person he portrayed himself to be. Once you got to know him, you would realize that he has a good heart. He was just snarky and sarcastic on the exterior. I was honored to have him as my charge. We got along really well. We conducted moroi defence classes together. Sometimes, we cooked together for the girls. He was a great cook and I wasn't bad, so we had that in common. As a general rule, the four of us eat together on Sundays, Rose and I being off duty. It wasn't possible on week days as Lissa would be busy, the dinners would be in the royal dining room and Rose and I would be on duty. But on Sundays, we usually had a quite picnic in the royal garden. The guardians flanked the outskirts of the garden but never stepped inside. It gave us privacy. Usually, someone like Adrian, Eddie and Jill or Mia would join us but mostly it was just us four. We would just talk about random things, nothing serious. We all loved those times. Even though everyone in this room was like family, we four were especially close.

'**That's better than jail,' admitted Lissa.**

I was thankful for her efforts in getting me out of jail. Really, she was like a sister to me. And she acted that way too…..helping me in whatever way she could, in buying gifts for Roza or forcefully making us take some days off, coming to me for advice on Christian and other royals. I knew that Roza was the happiest one to see us get along so well, she loved us both too much.

'**It's still absurd,' snapped Tasha, more to herself than the others. **

"Now I understand the reason she was so angry then," Lissa said quietly, "She never wanted Dimitri to escape."

Roza and I tensed.

"Yeah," Adrian agreed, "Dimitri running away with Rose foiled her plans to have him herself."

Everyone nodded.

I still couldn't believe that Tasha had framed Rose just to get me. How could she? Hadn't I made it clear to her in the ski resort that I just saw her as a friend and nothing else? That I didn't love her?

**She and Dimitri had been close over the years, and she'd once wanted to take that relationship to another level. **

I remembered how she pretended to be okay with my rejection, acting as if my happiness was important to her. Yet, she went ahead to frame the love of my life for murder and set her up for her death. Roza was my happiness, my everything. If she really cared about me, wouldn't she have let me be happy?

It was only the feel of Roza in my arms that calmed me. I had her now. She was safe. Everything was perfect. Roza reached up and kissed my cheek reassuringly. Everyone else had missed our moment since they were busy discussing something about Tasha. Eddie continued…

**She'd settled for friendship, **

Everyone snorted. She had had everyone convinced that she had settled for friendship.

**and her outrage over the injustice done to him was as strong as ours. 'They should have let him go as soon as he became a dhampir again. Once the elections are settled, I'm going to make sure he's free.'**

"To get him in your arms, bitch." Lissa whispered darkly. I recognized the signs of darkness. I knew she spoke so only because she cared about Rose and me so much. She couldn't bear the thought that her best friend could possibly have been executed and I might have ended up with Tasha. But I ending up with Tasha was impossible for several reasons. Firstly, if I had lost Roza, I would have retreated even further into a shell. And, at that time, I had believed I couldn't love anyone, so it wasn't possible that I would go to Tasha. Also, I have never seen Tasha in a romantic light. I had wanted a relationship with her back in the winter break to forget about Roza, but even then, I hadn't done anything like kiss her or something. We just had spent some time together, like friends, catching up. Spending time with her had made me think of my times with Roza and the contentment I have always felt with her but never with Tasha. I had realized that I could never love anyone other than Roza. So I rejected Tasha's offer.

I was brought out of my musings when Roza came back to me after calming down her best friend. I hadn't even realized she had gotten up. She looked at me with narrowed eyes as she perched on my lap. I knew she was trying to see if I was okay. I smiled at her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her flush against me. Lissa gave me a small apologetic smile to which I replied by shaking my head and smiling, letting her know that it was okay.

Once everyone settled down, Eddie started reading again.

'**And that's what's weird . . .' Christian's pale blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully. **

His eyes were narrowed now too. Lissa looked at him guiltily, thinking that her words had hurt him. When he noted her look, he gently kissed her. I knew that Christian would never hold Lissa responsible for something she said under the influence of darkness.

'**We heard that Tatiana had told others before she—before she—' Christian hesitated and glanced uneasily at Adrian. The pause was uncharacteristic for Christian, who usually spoke his mind abruptly.**

He grinned at Rose who grinned back at him. Everyone else was puzzled at their interaction but I knew what that was about. Speaking their minds was one of the things that Rose and Christian had in common and that grin was to acknowledge it.

'**Before she was murdered,' said Adrian flatly, not looking at any of them. 'Go on.'**

Adrian cringed while everyone looked at him sympathetically.

**Christian swallowed. 'Um, yeah. I guess—not in public—she'd announced that she believed Dimitri really was a dhampir again. Her plan was to help him get more acceptance once the other stuff settled down.'**

Really? Why do I find it hard to believe?

I could see Abe and Mikhail had raised their eyebrows as well, probably wondering if it was true.

**The 'other stuff' was the age law mentioned in Tatiana's note, the one saying dhampirs turning sixteen would be forced to graduate and start defending Moroi. It had infuriated me, but like so many other things now . . . well, it was kind of on hold.**

Everyone chuckled and Rose rolled her eyes in response to their amusement at her words.

**Adrian made a strange sound, like he was clearing his throat. 'She did not.'**

**Christian shrugged. 'Lots of her advisors said she did. That's the rumor.'**

'**I have a hard time believing it too,' Tasha told Adrian. **

Everyone had gone stiff again.

**She'd never approved of Tatiana's policies**

"That's why you got her murdered!" Adrian bellowed. We all were shocked. None of us had seen this side of Adrian. I couldn't tell if it was darkness or natural anger. Sydney kissed his cheek and he seemed to calm down a little. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking at us. Some of us smiled at him timidly.

**and had vehemently spoken out against them on more than one occasion. **

"I wish she had just spoken out and not acted against it." Christian whispered pain clear in his voice.

"Don't we all," Rose said sadly. It was true. All of us really wished that she hadn't done it. None of us had accepted her betrayal yet, even though a year had passed. Shaking his head, Eddie continued.

**Adrian's disbelief wasn't political, though.**

He nodded.

**His was simply coming from ideas he'd always had about his aunt. She'd never given any indication that she wanted to help Dimitri regain his old status.**

**Adrian made no further comment, but I knew this topic was kindling sparks of jealousy within him.**

"Very true, it had." Adrian said, smiling at Rose and me. Rose chuckled.

**I'd told him Dimitri was in the past and that I was ready to move on, **

"And we all know what a lie that was." Christian said, unable to help himself.

"Lying is not good, Rosie." Eddie said, chuckling.

Rose opened her mouth to retort but a kiss from me silenced her. Lissa shot me a grateful look. We didn't want to hear them banter. Once they started, it was difficult to stop them. Lissa and I had enough experience of Rose-Christian banter. Sometimes, it nearly drove us up the wall.

**but Adrian—like me—must have undoubtedly wondered about the motivations behind Dimitri's gallant defense.**

I smiled. "Gallant defence, eh?" I asked Roza quietly.

"Sounded cool," Roza replied shrugging before kissing me cheek and furrowing further into my arms.

**Lissa began to speculate on how they might get Dimitri out of house arrest when the saleswoman returned with an armful of dresses she clearly disapproved of. Biting her lip, Lissa fell silent. She filed away Dimitri's situation as something to deal with later.**

Lissa and Rose smiled at each other. _What about?_

**Instead, she wearily prepared to try on clothes and play the part of a good little royal girl.**

"Rose!" Lissa groaned. Rose chuckled at her best friend's scowl.

"Love your sarcasm, little dhampir" Adrian said, laughing.

"You have to admit that she is right, Liss" Christian said lightly.

"Still….she didn't have to quite put it that way" Lissa said, huffing.

"Say it as you see it, Liss." Roza said brightly, making Lissa scowl even more.

Everyone laughed at the best friends' interaction.

**Adrian perked up at the sight of the dresses. 'Any halters in there?'**

"Adrian!" Sydney groaned.

"You love me, Sage." Adrian said, smirking at her.

"I know I do. i just don't know why." Sydney mumbled which made Eddie, Christian and Rose laugh. Sonya smiled at Sydney and Adrian. She had known that there was something between them when the rest of us had had no clue. She was excellent in reading auras, which was how she had known that Rose and I still loved each other despite our claims that we didn't when we had been on the run.

**I returned to my cell, mulling over the problems that just seemed to keep piling up. I was worried about both Adrian and Dimitri. **

Both Adrian and I smiled at Rose.

**I was worried about myself.**

Thank god. She almost never does that. Some situations require that you worry about yourself.

**I was also worried about this so-called lost Dragomir. **

"That's a lot of worries, Rose." Janine said. She had been very quiet since the beginning.

"I dealt with them, didn't I?" Rose said carelessly.

"Barely," Janine muttered.

Rose glared at her and Janine smirked. Their relation had come a long way from the antagonistic one they had previously. Yet, sometimes, Rose's parents really got under her skin. I rubbed Roza's back, trying to get her to relax. She did.

**I was starting to believe the story could be real, but there was nothing I could do about it, which frustrated me. **

"Typical Rose. If she can't do something about any situation, she gets frustrated." Adrian noted.

"Yeah," Christian agreed, "during field experience, when the attacks on us had stopped briefly, Rose was so frustrated. She was itching for a fight."

"Sitting around is not my thing. I'd rather jump off the edge" Rose said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

I knew that only too well. Even though I hated sitting around and doing nothing as much as she did, I tended to think twice before I acted, which was utter opposite of Rose who jumped right in without giving it a first thought, let alone the second.

**I needed to take action when it came to helping Lissa.**

"True, true" everyone said. Her desire to help Lissa and put her first had always made me proud.

**Tatiana had told me in her letter to be careful whom I spoke to about the matter. Should I pass this mission on to someone else? I wanted to take charge of it, but the bars and suffocating walls around me said**

"The bars and wall _said_?" Adrian asked, acting perplexed. "Are you sure you are sane, little dhampir?"

Christian and Eddie laughed while Rose glared at Adrian.

"I am saner than you Ivashkov," she growled at him. "And really, you don't even know the_ meaning_ of sane."

This made Christian and Eddie laugh even more.

"She got you there, man!" Eddie said, clapping Adrian on the back.

We all just shook ours heads, exasperated.

**I might not be able to take charge of anything for a while, not even my own life.**

_Oh Roza,_ I sighed. I just hated listening to her suffer.

_**Two weeks**_**. Needing further distraction, I gave in and began reading Abe's book, which was exactly the tale of wrongful imprisonment I'd expected it to be. It **_**was **_**pretty good and taught me that faking my own death apparently wouldn't work as an escape method.**

"See? It did teach you something. That's why I left it for you," Abe said, grinning at Rose.

Roza just leaned into me and whispered, "Yeah, a fat lot of good it did to me. It did as much good as you being my lawyer."

"He did help you break out though." I pointed out.

As I expected, Roza didn't like that. She frowned at me, mildly irritated. I just smoothed out her frown and kissed her forehead. She smiled, her irritation vanishing instantly. I loved the effect I had on her. It was almost as much as the effect she had on me.

**The book unexpectedly stirred up old memories. A chill went down my spine as I recalled a Tarot reading that a Moroi named Rhonda had given to me. **

I tried to repress the shudder that passed through me when I heard Rhonda's name. Her prediction had come true for me.

**She was Ambrose's aunt, and one of the cards she'd drawn for me had shown a woman tied to swords. **_**Wrongful imprisonment. Accusations. Slander**_**. **

And all of those had come true. Roza surely wouldn't be thrilled about that. She never brought that stuff. What does she say now that everything had come true?

I looked at Roza, trying to gauge her reaction but her face was blank! Meeting my gaze, she smirked and gestured towards Eddie.

**Damn. I was really starting to hate those cards.**

Why am I not surprised?

**I always insisted they were a scam, yet they had an annoying tendency to come true.**

I grinned at Roza then. She huffed, untangling herself from my arms and crossing her arms over her chest. _What did I do?_

**The end of her reading had shown a journey, but to where? A real prison? My execution?**

It meant our journey and her escape from the prison, I realized. I looked at Roza but she was facing away from me. I quietly put my arms around her and pulled her to me. She tried to wiggle away but there wasn't much she could do in front of everyone. Satisfied, I buried my face in her hair.

**Questions with no answers. Welcome to my world.**

Everyone chuckled.

**Out of options for now, I figured I might as well try to get some rest. **

"Good idea," I whispered in Roza's ear. As much as she didn't want to, she shivered lightly. That made me smile.

**Stretching out on the pallet, I tried to push away those constant worries. Not easy. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw a judge banging a gavel, condemning me to death. I saw my name in the history books, not as a hero, but as a traitor.**

I hugged Roza tightly. Despite her earlier annoyance with me for unfathomable reasons, she relaxed in my arms and buried her face in my chest, not looking at anyone in the room. Some were looking sad and some grim. But they all looked at Roza pityingly, which she hated. I rubbed her back, soothing her further and motioned for Eddie to continue.

**Lying there, choking on my own fear, I thought of Dimitri.**

Oh? I tried to lift Roza's face but she stubbornly refused to look at me. I sighed and let it go. The reason would be mentioned in the book anyway.

**I pictured his steady gaze and could practically hear him lecturing me. **_**Don't worry now about what you can't**__**change. Rest when you can so you'll be ready for tomorrow's battles. **_

She knew me so well! It shouldn't have surprised me but it did. How many times had she just looked at my face and guessed my thoughts, even though my face would be expressionless? Now she was quoting me, imagining the exact same words that I would, no doubt, have told her had I been there. What is true love if not this?

**The imaginary advice calmed me.**

"Wow, Dimitri. That was amazing." Eddie said, looking at me in awe. "We all know how difficult it is to get Rose to calm down."

Sydney, Christian and Janine nodded.

"I remember I once had to use compulsion on her to get her to calm down." Adrian said.

"Before, I could calm her down only by sending her calm thoughts through the bond. She would never calm down otherwise. Now, without the bond, its really hard for me to get her to calm down." Lissa piped in.

"And to think Dimitri's imaginary voice could do what none of us could manage," added Janine.

"Seriously, guys. I am not that hard to calm down as you all are making me to be." Roza said indignantly. She was met by disbelieving stares. "Okay, okay, Dimitri calms me down. Happy?" she eventually conceded.

I chuckled quietly before giving her a peck on the lips. Roza automatically smiled, her previous dissatisfaction gone.

"Aww" Lissa cooed. Roza and I rolled our eyes.

**Sleep came at last, heavy and deep. I'd tossed and turned a lot this week, so true rest was welcome.**

"Good" said Lissa and Sydney together.

**Then—I woke up.**

"Why?" asked several people. Eddie continued quickly, obviously intrigued.

**I sat upright in bed, my heart pounding. Peering around, I looked for danger—any threat that might have startled me out of that sleep. There was nothing. Darkness.**

**Silence. **

Everyone leaned forward.

**The faint squeak of a chair down the hall told me my guards were still around.**

**The bond, I realized.**

"WHAT?" asked Lissa, wide-eyed. Christian shushed her.

**The bond had woken me up. I'd felt a sharp, intense flare of . . .**

**what? Intensity. Anxiety. A rush of adrenaline. Panic raced through me, and I dove deeper into Lissa, trying to find what had caused that surge of emotion from her.**

"Oh, what was it?" Sydney asked impatiently. Rose smirked, liking her reaction.

**What I found was . . . nothing.**

"Huh?" everyone looked questioningly at Rose. Her smirk widened. She looked very much like zmey's daughter at the moment.

**The bond was gone.**

"Oh!" Lissa said, understanding something while the rest of us were still puzzled.

"Who wants to read next?" Eddie asked.

"I will, I will," Lissa said, practically bouncing in excitement.


	4. Reading chapter three

**Thank you soo much for the reviews **** they were really encouraging! **

**Belated happy birthday to the Guest who left me a review…Iam so sorry that I couldn't upload on your birthday. **

**This chapter is dedicated to the anonymous Guest and for all those who left me a review **** enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: ****I don't own any of the characters…they all belong to the amazing Richelle Mead.**

**RPOV**

Lissa took the book and started reading.

**W****ELL, NOT GONE EXACTLY.**

The confusion was still evident on everyone's face.

**Muted.**

Lissa continued before anyone could interrupt.

**Kind of like how it had felt immediately after she'd restored Dimitri back to a dhampir. **

Dimitri raised an eyebrow. In response, I nodded towards Lissa.

**The magic had been so strong then that it had 'burned out' our link.**

Sonya leaned forward eagerly. She was doing research on spirit bonds and was eagerly eating up this titbit.

**There was no blast of magic now. It was almost as though the blankness was intentional on her part.**

Abe smiled. Looks like he finally figured it out.

**Like always, I still had a sense of Lissa: she was alive; she was well. So what was keeping me from feeling more of her? **

"You wanted to feel more of her, little dhampir?" asked Adrian, laughing his head off. We all looked at him, sickened. Sydney punched him on the stomach and the next thing we know, his laughter had turned into painful moan. Wow! That girl sure knew how to hit. Then, I remembered that she had been talking self defence classes. She smiled at everyone's shocked expressions. I grinned at Sydney, quite proud of her.

Christian, recovering from his shock, smirked at Adrian and said, "Beat up by a girl, Ivashkov. Don't feel so 'gorgeous' now, do you?"

Before Adrian could retort, I exclaimed, "hey! What is that supposed to mean? Can't a girl beat up a guy? Isn't a girl capable of it?"

Christian looked quite confused for a moment before grumbling, "Just because you are capable of beating up guys doesn't mean all other girls are."

Mom and Sydney glared at him now and he paled. I laughed out at him, earning me a glare in return. I just smirked. Does he really think he can scare me with those glares?

**She wasn't asleep, because I could feel a sense of alert consciousness on the other side of this wall. Spirit was there, hiding her from me . . . and she was making it happen.**

"I was," said Lissa, proud that she had managed to block me for an entire day.

**What the hell?**

She said it so meekly that I had to laugh. She glared at me, harmlessly. What is with the glares? That too, directed at me?

**It was an accepted fact that our bond worked only one way. I could sense her; she couldn't sense me. Likewise, I could control when I went into her mind. Often, I tried to keep myself out (jail captivity time excluded), in an attempt to protect her privacy. **

Lissa smiled thankfully.

**Lissa had no such control and her vulnerability infuriated her sometimes. **

Adrian nodded. He understood now how Lissa had felt. He didn't want Jill to witness everything through him, especially when he was alone with Sydney. He still treated her as a baby sister, even though I knew that his 'baby' sister was doing some not-babyish activities with her Guardian Castile.

**Every once in a while, she could use her power to shield herself from me, but it was rare, difficult, and required considerable effort on her part. Today, she was pulling it off, and as the condition persisted, I could feel her strain. Keeping me out wasn't easy, but she was managing it. Of course, I didn't care about the how of it.**

Everyone was perplexed once more.

**I wanted to know the **_**why**_**.**

"Of course, you did," Abe said, "you are way too inquisitive for your own good."

"Says the man who has made it his business to know about everyone and everything," I retorted lightly. I was his daughter, after all.

**It was probably my worst day of imprisonment. Fear for myself was one thing. But for her? That was agonizing**.

Dimitri, mom, Lissa and Christian smiled.

**If it was my life or hers, I would have walked into execution without hesitation**.

"You would, wouldn't you?" Lissa asked, teary-eyed. She meant that as a rhetorical question. She already knew I would.

"She did." Christian whispered quietly.

Dimitri breathed in sharply, as if relieving that moment when I had jumped in front of Lissa to save her from Tasha's bullet. I squeezed his hand before smiling comfortingly at Lissa who was looked pale, that is, paler than usual. Christian hugged her. The others kept quiet, knowing better than to interrupt. Lissa calmed down soon and started reading again.

**I had to know what was going on. Had she learned something? Had the Council decided to skip right over a trial and execute me? Was Lissa trying to protect me from that news? **

"Impatient much?" Eddie mumbled. I ignored him.

**The more spirit she wielded, the more she endangered her life.**

"Yours too," Sonya whispered, looking at me. I nodded absentmindedly. When have I cared if my life is in danger?

**This mental wall required a lot of magic. But why? Why was she taking this risk? It was astonishing in that moment to realize just how much I relied on the bond to keep track of her. True: I didn't always welcome someone else's thoughts in my head.**

"And here I was thinking you loved to get inside Lissa's head," Adrian said sarcastically.

"Don't open that mouth of yours, Ivashkov. Your girlfriend might smack you again," I said, snarkily.

Everyone chuckled at the reminder.

**Despite the control I'd learned, her mind still sometimes poured into mine in moments I'd rather not experience.**

"You know, its nothing other than the church attic," I teased Lissa and Christian, loving to watch them squirm. Dimitri gave a look, asking me to stop. I just smiled widely at him and winked.

**None of that was a concern now—only her safety was.**

"Amazing, Rose." mom said softly, "you are so protective of her, worrying about her safety all the time. That's what makes you a great guardian."

I swelled under mom's praise. She rarely praised me but when she did, I felt like I was on the moon. It was, actually, very similar to how I felt when Dimitri praised me. It meant a lot, much more than I cared to admit.

**Being blocked off was like having a limb removed.**

"Then how do you fell now, without the bond?" Mikhail asked, genuinely curious.

I shrugged, "its the same feeling."

**All day I tried to get inside her head. Every time, I was kept out. It was maddening. No visitors came to me either, and the book and magazines had long since lost their appeal. The caged animal feeling was getting to me again, and I spent a fair amount of time yelling at my guards—with no results. **

Everyone gave me 'the look'. I rolled my eyes.

**Tatiana's funeral was tomorrow, and the clock to my trial was ticking loudly.**

**Bedtime came, and the wall in the bond dropped at last—because Lissa went to sleep. The link between us was firm, but her mind was closed off in unconsciousness. I'd find no answers there. Left with nothing else, I went to bed as well, wondering if I'd be cut off again in the morning.**

**I wasn't. She and I were linked again, **

"Don't even dare say anything," I warned Adrian who had opened his mouth, about to say something dirty.

**and I was able to see the world through her eyes once more. Lissa was up and around early, preparing for the funeral. I neither saw nor felt any sign of why I'd been blocked the day before. She was letting me back into her mind, just like normal. I almost wondered if I'd imagined being cut off from her.**

**No . . . there it was. Barely. Within her mind, I sensed thoughts she was still hiding from me. They were slippery. Each time I tried to grasp them, they fell out of my hands.**

"Thoughts falling out of your hands, little dhampir?" Adrian asked, grinning. Eddie and Christian snickered and I glared at them.

**I was amazed she could still use enough magic to pull it off, and it was also a clear indication that she'd blocked me out intentionally yesterday. What was going on? Why on earth would she need to hide something from me? What could I do about anything, locked in this hellhole? Again, my unease grew. What awful thing didn't I know about?**

"It wasn't anything awful," Lissa said, smiling.

"Yeah, I would have known that," I grumbled, "if you had just told me the plan."

Dimitri opened his mouth, undoubtedly to explain the logic behind keeping me in the dark about _Operation: Bust Rose out of jail_.

Before he could begin, I said "you know what? Forget it."

He shook his head.

**I watched Lissa get ready, seeing no ostensible sign of anything unusual. The dress she'd ended up selecting had cap sleeves and went to the knee. Black, of course. It was hardly a clubbing dress, but she knew it would raise some eyebrows. **

"It did. Some elder moroi were scandalized that the Dragomir princess had chosen such a dress," Lissa sighed.

**Under different circumstances, this would have delighted me**.

"Of course it would," Christian said.

"Don't act like you weren't delighted," I replied.

He grinned, knowing that Lissa rebelling against royals was something we had agreed on since the beginning.

**She chose to wear her hair down and unbound, its pale blond color showing brightly against the dress's black when she surveyed herself in a mirror.**

"You looked beautiful, like always." Christian whispered but all of us heard it. Eddie and I rolled our eyes.

**Christian met Lissa outside. He cleaned up well, **

Christian raised his eyebrow.

**I had to admit, uncharacteristically wearing a dress shirt and tie. He'd drawn the line at a jacket, and his expression was an odd mix of nervousness, secrecy, and typical snark. **

"You did always read him so well" Lissa said.

"Guardian thing, I guess," I shrugged. I could read Christian well, not that he was an open book to me like Dimitri.

"Maybe." Sonya said, speaking after a long time. "Or maybe its just you. I can tell that you are quite good at reading people." As an afterthought, she added, "not like you read Dimitri, of course," echoing my thoughts just moments back.

Dimitri and I smiled at each other. His arms around me tightened and I hugged him back just as tightly.

**When he saw Lissa, though, his face momentarily transformed, turning radiant and awestruck as he gazed at her.**

Christian blushed. While Lissa found it adorable, Eddie, Adrian and I found it hilarious.

**He gave her a small smile and took her into his arms for a brief embrace.**

Now, both of them blushed. Being Rose Hathaway, I decided to make this worst for them.

"Aw. Don't blush. Really, an embrace is nothing compared to what goes on behind the closed doors of Queen Vasilisa's royal bedroom." I said, smirking. They blushed even more, if that was possible.

**His touch brought her contentment and comfort, easing her anxiety. **

"Rose!" Lissa groaned.

"What? You think this is bad? The whole book is from my god damn point of view. God knows what's in there!" I said, angry that my most private moments might be a part of the book.

"Looking forward to hearing it," I think I heard Christian mutter.

Dimitri rubbed soothing circles on my back. That shut me up.

**They'd gotten back together recently after a breakup, and that time apart had been agonizing for both of them.**

They nodded, looking sad. Mom and Abe were looking into each other's eyes, as if that statement applied to them too? _Did it? _

'**It's going to be okay,' he murmured, his look of worry returning. 'This'll work. We can do this.'**

"Wow! Prep talk by Ozera. Never thought I would see the day." Adrian said, smirking. Christian growled at him.

**She said nothing but tightened her hold on him before stepping back. Neither of them spoke as they walked to the beginning of the funeral procession. I decided this was suspicious.**

Abe smiled proudly.

**She caught hold of his hand and felt strengthened by it.**

Cue: Mushy looks exchange between Lissa and Christian.

**The funeral procedures for Moroi monarchs had been the same for centuries, no matter if the Court was in Romania or its new home in Pennsylvania. That was the Moroi way. They mixed the traditional with the modern, magic with technology.**

Sydney raised her eyebrow, looking interested. Guess she thought we were all modern like the Alchemists.

**The queen's coffin would be carried by pallbearers out of the palace and taken with great ceremony all through the Court's grounds, until it reached the Court's imposing cathedral. There, a select group would enter for mass. After the service, Tatiana would be buried in the church's graveyard, taking her place beside other monarchs and important royals. The coffin's route was easy to spot. Poles strung with red and black silk banners marked each side. Rose petals had been strewn on the ground the coffin would pass over. **

"Did you have to be so descriptive?" Christian asked, looking bored.

"My thoughts aren't intended for everyone to read," I said, miffed.

Lissa shot me a sympathetic look before continuing.

**Along the sides, people crammed together, hoping to catch a glimpse of their former queen. Many Moroi had come from far off places, some to see the funeral and some to see the monarch elections that would soon follow over the next couple of weeks. **

**The royal family escort—most of whom wore saleswoman-approved black velvet— **

Some chuckled.

**were already heading into the palace building. Lissa stopped outside to part ways with Christian since he certainly had never been in the running to represent his family for such an honored event. **

"Now he is." Lissa said, smiling up at him.

Eddie and I mimed gagging, seriously fed up of their sweet affectionate displays.

**She gave him another fierce hug and a light kiss. As they stepped away, there was a knowing glint in his blue eyes—that secret that was hidden from me.**

Everyone looked at me in surprise, wondering how I had caught that look. I smirked at them, tossing my hair over my shoulder in a show of smugness. Eddie and Adrian rolled their eyes but Dimitri smiled.

**Lissa pushed through the gathering crowds, trying to get to the entrance and find the procession's starting point. The building didn't look like the palaces or castles of ancient Europe. Its grand stone façade and tall windows matched the Court's other structures, but a few features—its height, wide marble steps—subtly distinguished it from other buildings. **

"Interesting" Sydney murmured, looking thoughtful. I had forgotten that she loved architecture.

"Who would have thought that Rose noted architecture?" Adrian commented.

Sydney looked like she agreed with him but looked glad to have read about Court architecture; even if it was only little that I had noted.

**A tug at Lissa's arm stopped her progress, nearly causing her to run into an ancient Moroi man.**

'**Vasilisa?' It was Daniella Ivashkov, Adrian's mother**.

Adrian breathed in deeply. His mother was still in prison and it was hard on him. Sydney hugged him close, comforting him. Just then, it struck me that this book would be hard on Adrian if it included me cheating on him. Even though he was long past the hatred and loathing, I knew it would trouble him if he were to read that part. Plus, he will have to relive his mother getting into trouble for stealing the files related to Jill. I was just glad that Sydney was there for him.

**Daniella wasn't so bad as royals went, **

Adrian smiled at that.

**and she was actually okay with Adrian and me dating**

Sydney raised her eyebrow.

—**or at least, she had been before I became an accused murderer. Most of Daniella's acceptance had come from the fact that she believed Adrian and I would split up anyways once I received my guardian assignment.**

"How did you know that?" Adrian asked curiously.

"Well…" I squirmed, "she told me when I came to your house for dinner that day. When you went to get your coat."

Adrian put all the pieces together, "So, You never planned to stay with me then."

I opened my mouth to deny it, but realizing that I couldn't, apologized instead, "I am sorry."

He smiled and shook his head. I leaned into Dimitri's chest for comfort. He stroked my hair and kissed my temple. I instantly relaxed and smiled.

**Daniella had also convinced one of her cousins, Damon Tarus, to be my lawyer—an offer I'd rejected when I chose Abe to represent me instead. I still wasn't entirely sure if I'd made the best decision there,**

"Hey!" exclaimed Abe indignantly. Mom and I smirked at his whining tone.

**but it probably tarnished Daniella's view of me, which I regretted.**

"You actually regret your image being tarnished?" Eddie asked disbelieving.

"What? She was nice." I defended myself.

**Lissa offered up a nervous smile. She was anxious to join the procession and get all of this over with. 'Hi,' she said. Daniella was dressed in full black velvet and even had small diamond barrettes shining in her dark hair. Worry and agitation lined her pretty face.**

Adrian smiled again when I described her as pretty.

'**Have you seen Adrian? I haven't been able to find him anywhere. We checked his room.'**

"Always so concerned about me," Adrian whispered in agony before burying his face in Sydney's shoulder. She smoothed his hair out and murmured things that we could have heard if we concentrated. But we didn't, leaving them to their moment. Sydney gestured for Lissa to continue.

'**Oh.' Lissa averted her eyes.**

'**What?' Daniella nearly shook her. 'What do you know?'**

**Lissa sighed. 'I'm not sure where he is, but I saw him last night when he was coming back from some party.' Lissa hesitated, like she was too embarrassed to tell the rest.**

"You are a pretty good actress, you know," I said to Lissa who smiled.

'**He was . . . really drunk. More than I've ever seen him. He was going off with some girls, and I don't know. I'm sorry, Lady Ivashkov. He's probably . . . well, passed out somewhere.'**

**Daniella wrung her hands, and I shared her dismay.**

Looks like Sydney shared our dismay too.

'**I hope nobody notices. Maybe we can say . . . he was overcome with grief. There's so much going on. Surely no one will notice. You'll tell them, right? You'll say how upset he was?'**

**I liked Daniella, but this royal obsession with image was really starting to bug me. I knew she loved her son, but her main concern here seemed to be less about Tatiana's final rest than it was about what others would think about a breach of protocol.**

"She never liked Aunt Tatiana." Adrian whispered.

I had known that, what with sharing Ambrose, practicing offensive magic and stuff.

'**Of course,' said Lissa. 'I wouldn't want anyone to . . . well, I'd hate for that to get out.' **

'**Thank you. Now go.' Daniella gestured to the doors, still looking anxious. 'You need to take your place.' To Lissa's surprise, Daniella gave her a gentle pat on the arm. 'And don't be nervous. You'll do fine. Just keep your head up."**

**Guardians stationed at the door recognized Lissa as someone with access and allowed her in. There, in the foyer, was Tatiana's coffin. Lissa froze, suddenly overwhelmed, and nearly forgot what she was doing there.**

Lissa paused for a moment before continuing to read.

**The coffin alone was a work of art. It was made of gleaming black wood, polished to brilliance. Paintings of elaborate garden scenes in shining metallic colors of every hue adorned each side. Gold glittered everywhere, including the poles that the pallbearers would hold. Those poles were draped with strings of mauve roses. **

"You take in so much detail," Mikhail said appreciatively. "It's a mark of a good guardian."

I smiled at him.

**It seemed like the thorns and leaves would make it difficult for the pallbearers to get a good grip, but that was their problem to deal with.**

Eddie stifled a laugh.

**Inside, uncovered and lying on a bed of more mauve roses, was Tatiana herself. **

Something occurred to me. "Adrian" I said, "you never got to attend her funeral. I am sorry."

Adrian smiled and said, "Don't be. I chose to help you escape jail. And I had already seen her before the funeral."

I nodded.

**It was strange. I saw dead bodies all the time. Hell, I created them. But seeing a body that had been preserved, lying peacefully and ornamentally . . . well, it was creepy. It was strange for Lissa, too, particularly since she didn't have to deal with death as often as I did. Tatiana wore a gleaming silk gown that was a rich shade of purple—the traditional color for royal burial. The dress's long sleeves were decorated with an elaborate design of small pearls. I'd often seen Tatiana in red—a color associated with the Ivashkov family—and I was glad for the purple burial tradition. A red dress would have been too strong a reminder of the bloody pictures of her that I'd seen at my hearing, pictures I kept trying to block out. **

I shook my head slightly to clear those images that popped up suddenly. Dimitri kissed my forehead, silently helping me block it out now. I was so thankful for having him here, with me. He always helped me relax.

**Strings of gemstones and more pearls hung around her neck, and a gold crown set with diamonds and amethysts rested upon her graying hair. Someone had done a good job with Tatiana's makeup, but even they couldn't hide the whiteness of her skin. **

Lissa and Sydney shivered.

**Moroi were naturally pale. In death, they were like chalk—like Strigoi.**

Sonya and Dimitri winced. Mikhail and I comforted them silently.

**The image struck Lissa so vividly that she swayed on her feet a little and had to look away. The roses' scent filled the air, but there was a hint of decay mixed in with that sweetness.**

Lissa looked nauseous at my description. Everyone was disturbed at having to hear this.

**The funeral coordinator spotted Lissa and ordered her into position—after first bemoaning Lissa's fashion choice. The sharp words snapped Lissa back to reality, and she fell in line with five other royals on the right side of the coffin. She tried not to look too closely at the queen's body and directed her gaze elsewhere. The pallbearers soon showed up and lifted their burden, using the rose-draped poles to rest the coffin on their shoulders and slowly carry it out to the waiting crowd. The pallbearers were all dhampirs. They wore formal suits, which confused me at first, but then I realized they were all Court guardians—except one. Ambrose. He looked as gorgeous as always**

Dimitri looked at me and I smiled at him innocently. He knew that I loved him and only him. Besides, I had always thought that my Dimitri was far more gorgeous than Ambrose. Dimitri's little flaws made him more gorgeous in my eyes whereas Ambrose was too perfect. Unnatural. Anyways, even if Dimitri had been one of the ugliest people in the planet, I had no doubt that I would still love him. And he knew all that.

**And stared straight ahead as he did his job, face blank and expressionless.**

**I wondered if Ambrose mourned Tatiana. I was so fixated on my own problems that I kept forgetting a life had been lost here, a life that many had loved. Ambrose had defended Tatiana when I'd been angry about the age law. **

Adrian snorted, not happy about the whole Tatiana-Ambrose-affair.

**Watching him through Lissa's eyes, I wished I was there to speak to him in person. **

"Why?" Adrian asked.

"Read, Liss." I ordered.

**He had to know something more about the letter he'd slipped me in the courtroom. **

I looked pointedly at Adrian.

**Surely he wasn't just the delivery boy.**

**The procession moved forward, ending my musings about Ambrose. Before and ahead of the coffin were other ceremonial people. Royals in elaborate clothing, making a glittering display. Uniformed guardians carrying banners. Musicians with flutes walked at the very back, playing a mournful tune. For her part, Lissa was very good at public appearances and managed the slow, stately pace with elegance and grace, her gaze level and confident. **

Lissa blushed softly at my compliments.

"Its true" both Christian and I said simultaneously. She blushed even more.

**I couldn't see outside her body, of course, but it was easy to imagine what the spectators saw. She was beautiful and regal,**

"Thank you" Lissa said, looking at me. I knew she had issues with her beauty. She felt pale in front of me. But I had always felt she was the more beautiful one out of the two of us. I was hot, that's all. Dimitri whispered, "You _are_ beautiful" in my ear, probably guessing the direction of my thoughts. I just sighed happily. This man makes me _feel _beautiful.

**worthy to inherit the Dragomir legacy,**

"You are," Abe said, surprising us all. Lissa just nodded her thank you to him.

**and hopefully more and more would realize that. It would save us a lot of trouble if someone would change the voting law through standard procedures, so we didn't have to rely on a quest for a lost sibling.**

**Walking the funeral route took a long time. Even when the sun started sinking down toward the horizon, the day's heat still hung in the air. Lissa began to sweat but knew her discomfort was nothing compared to the pallbearers'. If the watching crowd felt the heat, they didn't show it.**

"Of course not," mom said. "We guardians never show such things."

All the other guardians nodded. Lissa frowned, thinking something deeply.

**They craned their necks to get their one glimpse of the spectacle passing before them. Lissa didn't process the onlookers so much, but in their**

**faces, I saw that the coffin wasn't their only focus. They were also watching Lissa. Word of what she'd done for Dimitri had blazed around the Moroi world, and while many were skeptical of her ability to heal, there were just as many who believed. I saw expressions of wonder and awe in the crowd, and for a second, I wondered who they'd **_**really **_**come to see: Lissa or Tatiana?**

"You really are biased, Rose," Lissa reprimanded me softly.

I shook my head stubbornly. Christian smiled, agreeing with me.

**Finally, the cathedral came into view, which was good news for Lissa. The sun didn't kill Moroi like it did Strigoi,**

Dimitri flinched. But no one noticed it, no one but me. I squeezed his hands and kissed his cheek, soothing him almost instantly. He smiled slightly.

**but the heat and sunlight were still uncomfortable for any vampire. The procession was nearly finished, and she, being one of those allowed into the church service, would soon get to enjoy air conditioning.**

**As I studied the surroundings, I couldn't help but think what a circle of irony my life was.**

Everyone looked at me curiously. I nodded towards Lissa.

**Off to the sides of the church's extensive grounds were two giant statues showing ancient Moroi monarchs of legend, a king and queen who had helped the Moroi prosper. **

With a start, I realized that everyone, with the exception of Sydney, Sonya and mom had been part of the mission to bust me out of the jail. Or wait…had mom been a part as well? Had she known? Most likely she did…she just couldn't take an active role in it…..

**Even though they were a fair distance from the church, the statues loomed ominously, like they were scrutinizing everything.**

Christian and Abe were grinning at the mention of those statues. Even Mikhail and Eddie were smiling. I felt slightly jealous that I had been left out of the loop.

**Near the queen's statue was a garden that I knew well. I'd been forced to landscape it as punishment for running off to Las Vegas. **

My mom scowled. Of course, she disapproved. Good god, what will she do if she finds out the real reason I went there?

**My true purpose on that trip—which no one knew—had been to free Victor Dashkov from prison. **

Right on cue, mom shouted, "WHAT?"

I winced at her tone. Mikhail and Sonya looked shocked. All the others knew about it. I had told Sydney and Dimitri, Adrian, Abe and Christian had figured it out, Lissa and Eddie had actually been my partners in crime. Mikhail knew we were going to Vegas, he had helped us run away from Court but he had no clue that I had gone to free Victor Dashkov. Sonya had seen Victor with us, hell we all had road tripped together but she hadn't known that it was me who freed him. She had assumed he had broken out by himself. Only one left….my pissed off mother.

I took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the guilt I always feel whenever Victor is mentioned and opened my mouth to reply when Eddie cut me off, "please Guardian Hathaway, I know you are angry at Rose. I was too. But believe me, it was for the best."

I was shocked. As he admitted, he had been very angry with me over the whole break-Victor-from-Tarasov-to-pursue-impossible-dre am-of-restoring-strigoi. But I guess he realized how useful it was. Even my mom looked shocked at Eddie's words before nodding curtly, deciding to find out more before yelling at me. I cringed into Dimitri, imagining how that would go. He rubbed my back reassuringly.

**Victor had been a longtime enemy of ours, but he and his brother Robert, a spirit user, had held the knowledge we needed to save Dimitri.**

Mom opened her mouth, no doubt to scold me but Abe shushed her. _Shushed her_. And she actually listened. Hmm….

Before Lissa could continue, Mikhail and Sonya whispered "thank you," in unison, looking at me gratefully. I shook my head at them. They always did that, no matter how many times I told them it wasn't all me.

Then, Dimitri leaned down and whispered "thank you" in my ear. I cut him a look which screamed '_Seriously?' _ He chuckled quietly.

**If any guardians had found out that I'd freed Victor—then later lost him—my punishment would have been a lot worse than filing and landscaping.**

"You bet," mom muttered angrily while Abe looked proud. Ah, contradiction! Proves how weird my parents are when it comes to personality. One is rule abiding and the other has broken all known rules. And I was a weird mix of both…I have no qualms in breaking rules yet I wouldn't want the guardian rules disobeyed (unless absolutely necessary!)

**At least I'd done a good job with the garden, I thought bitterly. **

"That you did," Christian said, grinning. He had, after all, come to talk to me when I was tending to the garden.

"You'll make a great gardener, little dhampir." Adrian said, sporting a grin identical to Christian's.

I grinned back and said, "Me _and _Eddie. Don't forget, Eddie did a fantastic job as well."

Eddie glared at me and I smirked. What? If I was going down, he was too!

Lissa continued hastily…

**If I was executed, I'd leave a lasting mark at Court.**

Lissa's voice trembled slightly. Christian noticed and squeezed her hand supportively.

**Lissa's eyes lingered on one of the statues for a long time before she turned back to the church. She was sweating heavily now, and I realized some of it wasn't just the heat. She was anxious too. But why? Why was she so nervous? This was just ceremony. All she had to do was go through the motions here. Yet . . . there it was again. Something else was bothering her. She was still keeping a cluster of thoughts from me, but a few leaked out as she worried.**

_**Too close, too close. We're moving too fast.**_

"Okay. Now I am totally confused. What's too close?" Sydney asked, not liking puzzles. I smiled at her amused.

Adrian said, "Be patient, sugarplum."

Everyone laughed. Ah! Adrian and his nicknames! Sydney looked annoyed but I caught I glint of amusement.

**Fast? Not by my estimation. I could have never handled this slow, stately pace**.

"You do now," Lissa pointed out. Yeah, I did. Whenever Lissa attended functions, she would be the last to enter, being the queen. Then, she had to walk up to the front of the room slowly and regally. Being her guardian, I had to walk behind her just as slowly. It was agonizing!

Everyone laughed at the tormented look I was sure I was sporting now.

**I felt especially bad for the pallbearers. If I were one, I would've said to hell with propriety and started jogging toward my final destination. **

Everyone laughed, imagining me doing that. I had to admit, it was funny. Lissa took a deep breath and continued.

**Of course, that might jostle the body. If the funeral coordinator had been upset over Lissa's dress, there was no telling how she'd react if Tatiana fell out of the coffin.**

The hilarity mounted. Everyone were laughing uncontrollably, even mom! I had never seen her laugh like this. Hell, I had never heard her laugh period. Christian, Eddie and Adrian were on the floor, rolling around. Sydney, Sonya and Lissa were almost choking, holding their sides. Abe and Dimitri were more controlled, but they too were laughing. I was looking at everyone, amused at their reactions. Was it really that funny? I didn't care; I liked seeing everyone so relaxed. Lissa finally relaxed and continued.

**Our view of the cathedral was getting clearer, its domes shining amber and orange in the setting sun. Lissa was still several yards away, but the priest standing out front was clearly visible. His robes were almost blinding. They were made of heavy, glittering gold brocade, long and full. A rounded hat with a cross, also gold, sat on his head. I thought it was in poor taste for him to outshine the queen's clothing, but maybe that was just what priests did on formal occasions. Maybe it got God's attention. **

This set off another round of laughter. They had never quite recovered from the previous one anyways.

"That was hilarious, Rose," Eddie choked out.

"Yeah. Bright clothes apparently 'got God's attention'," Christian said before falling into another round of hysterics.

I was grinning broadly.

**He lifted his arms in welcome, showing off more of that rich fabric.**

Adrian mimicked the priest, lifting his arms and striking a pose. They all laughed harder.

**The rest of the crowd and I couldn't help but stare at the dazzling display.**

**So, you can imagine our surprise when the statues blew up.**

Everyone, except mom, me, Dimitri, Sonya and Sydney, grinned proudly.

"Before we begin again, there is something I need. Real badly." I said longingly.

"What?" several people asked. Except Dimitri, Lissa and Christian who shook their heads at me, exasperated.

"Food!" shouted all four of us in unison. Ah! They know me so well!

"Okay. Let's take a break. Get back here within an hour." Lissa said, throwing a pointed glance. I ignored her and bolted to the door only to crash into someone. Before I could react, a mass of brown hair attacked me.

**AN****: oh who is it? Any guesses? **

**Please review and let me know what you think about this chapter!**


	5. Break time

**Thank you for the reviews **** and thanks to all those who added this story as a favorite or followed this story **** you guys rock!**

**This is a short chapter….a non reading one….but a relief from the usual reading stuff…**

**DISCLAIMER****: all the characters belong to Richelle Mead **

Attacked me by throwing its arms around me. I stiffened for a second before hugging her back. "Viktoria!" I exclaimed, happy to see my sort-of- sister in law.

"I missed you, Rose. And you, Dimka," she said before letting go of me to hug Dimitri. He hugged her back tightly and the two of them started a conversation in Russian. I glared at them. They just grinned at me. They were doing it to annoy me. Oh, they were going to pay! Both of them laughed at my narrowed eyes before reaching towards me as one and pulling me into a group hug. Our laughter echoed through the room. Viktoria and I had gotten really close in these two years. We had hit it off very well when we first met and the years had just cemented our relationship. She was fun loving like me and we both _loved_ to tease Dimitri just like they both loved to annoy me. Before I could ask her why she was here, I realized that there were others in the room. I turned to them quickly.

"Everyone, this is Viktoria," I said. "Dimitri's baby sister," I added, grinning at Viktoria's glare.

"Hey!" Viktoria greeted everyone.

"Viktoria, this is Lissa and Christian, the rulers of our world," I said dramatically, pointing at Liss and Christian.

Viktoria proceeded to bow down but Lissa hastily stopped her, mumbling about how she wanted to be treated normally. She stepped forward to take Viktoria's hand, both of them saying how much they had heard of the other from me. Introductions continued and everyone went separate ways, Sonya and Mikhail remained in the room, Lissa and Christian went to their quarters, mom and Abe went who-knows-where, Sydney, Adrian went on a walk around the grounds, Eddie went to take care of Jill's accommodations since she was returning to the Court tomorrow. Dimitri, Viktoria and I went up to Dimitri's room. His room was pretty much the same as mine, more simple but just as spacious. We both were in the Palace housing, courtesy of Lissa. He was one floor above me. No other guardian lived here though. Palace housing was just meant for the queen and her relatives. Lissa claimed that we were family and pressed us to stay with her. It was spacious enough that all the rooms, or rather suites, were far apart. Yeah…we lead a comfy life!

"Wow, Dimka." Viktoria said, in awe, looking around the corridor, "You live here?"

"Wait till you get inside," I said, throwing the doors open and pulling her into his suite. Both Dimitri and I burst out laughing as Viktoria's mouth fell open. It was regal and beautiful, like all other suites here in the palace housing. Immediately, I rushed to the phone to order pizzas for us. Satisfied that the food would be here shortly, I sat down next to Dimitri and chatted with Viktoria. She revealed that she and Nikolai had gotten together. About time, I say. Poor guy had been head over heels in love with her when I had visited two years back. Apparently, she had been pestering Olena for ages to allow her to visit us and Olena had finally agreed. I was glad but wished to see them all. Food arrived and I wasted no time in polishing off my share, stealing bits from Dimitri's too. He didn't mind. I was getting more and more tired by every passing minute. I had just slept for 3 hours yesterday since I was on night duty and reading the book on my life was damn exhausting. As Dimitri and Viktoria talked, I strolled to the bedroom for a powernap. Sinking into the soft, familiar bed, I tried to sleep but couldn't. My mind was buzzing with questions. Who the hell sent that book? How had they known my thoughts? Could they access my thoughts now? The thought was damn creepy. I tried to distract myself by looking around the room. Out of every seven nights, three or four of my nights would be spent here. It was like my own bedroom for me. The curtains were a pale blue color, a sharp contrast to the red ones in my suite. The interior was less grand. Even when simple, it was regal. The comforter was silver and blue. Dimitri's scent lingered in the bed and that was enough to soothe me. I reached for the framed picture on the bedside table. It was of me and Dimitri, waltzing in Sonya's wedding. My arms were around his neck, his were around my waist and we both had slightly turned to face the camera, smiling happily. In the living room, there were a few more pictures of us with friends and family. Dimitri just kept a select few whereas I had a lot more in my suite. I smiled at the picture, kept it back and rose up from the bed, realizing that I was too keyed up to sleep. Time to go back to reading the story of my life….

**AN****: I am really sorry for those who wanted it to be Jill. Rest assured that the Dragomir princess will be joining in on the fun….after one chapter though **

**Please review!**


	6. Reading chapter four

**Hey! Thank you all so much for the reviews and follows and for adding this story as a favorite. Thanks to my friend Namrata (jdgnam) for assistance **

**DISCLAIMER: The characters of Vampire academy belong to Richelle mead.**

**RPOV**

Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, Vika had signed up for guitar classes here at the Court. Apparently, Dimitri had known that she was coming and had booked the classes for her, knowing that she was very interested in it. At least she didn't get to read my story. I was not very comfortable with her knowing my thoughts. Don't get me wrong, I loved her and was very close to her. But she had played no part in those events that unfolded in my life after my imprisonment. She didn't know that Dimitri and I had briefly broken up. She didn't know that I had dated Adrian. She also didn't know that Dimitri's strigoi past had haunted him, a fact that, I am sure, is brought up repeatedly in the book. So, as selfish as it sounds, I didn't want her to know.

Everyone had already assembled in the room. Dimitri and I went back to our couch.

"So, who is reading next?" Abe asked.

"I'll read," Mikhail volunteered.

"Chapter four," he started.

**A****ND WHEN I SAY THEY blew up, I mean **_**they blew up**_**.**

"That's what you said the first time," Christian complained.

"Bear with it," I growled.

**Flames and smoke unfurled like petals from a newly opened flower as those poor monarchs exploded into pieces of rock. **

"Wow, Rose." Sonya said, shocked, "I didn't know you had a poetic mind."

Everyone chuckled.

"I don't." I said stubbornly.

Lissa and Dimitri gave me 'the look'. I rolled my eyes at them.

**For a moment, I was stunned.**

"Rose stunned?" Adrian asked, looking bemused.

"Just for a moment," I said defensively.

**It was like watching an action movie, the explosion cracking the air and shaking the ground. **

Everyone looked at me.

"What? It was like that," I said, even though majority of them had witnessed it.

**Then, guardian training kicked in. Critical observation and calculation took over. **

Dimitri, mom, Eddie and Mikhail nodded.

**I immediately noticed that the bulk of the statue's material blew toward the outer sides of the garden. Small stone pieces and dust rained down on the funeral procession, but no large chunks of rock hit Lissa or anyone standing nearby. Assuming the statues had not spontaneously combusted, whoever had blown them up had done so in a precise way.**

"Very good, Rose." Mom said approvingly.

I swelled under her praise. It was similar to receiving praise from Dimitri. Neither of them was quick to praise but when they did….well, it meant a lot.

**The logistics aside, huge billowing pillars of flame are still pretty scary. **

I glared at Eddie, Adrian and Christian, daring them to comment. They didn't. I smirked.

**Chaos broke loose as everyone tried to get away. Only, they all took different routes, so collisions and entanglements occurred. Even the pallbearers set down their precious burden and took off. **

"What?" Adrian asked, scandalized that Tatiana's corpse had been abandoned.

"Honestly, Adrian. What else could they do?" Sydney asked sensibly.

Adrian didn't answer.

**Ambrose was the last to do so, his mouth agape and eyes wide as he stared at Tatiana, but another look at the statues sent him off into the mob. **

"Coward," Adrian muttered under his breath.

Sydney elbowed him lightly, knowing that Adrian was over reacting.

**A few guardians tried to keep order, herding people back down the funeral path, but it didn't do a lot of good. Everyone was out for themselves, too terrified and panicked to think reasonably.**

"That was the purpose," Abe said knowledgably.

**Well, everyone except for Lissa.**

Lissa smiled.

**To my surprise, she **_**wasn't **_**surprised. **

"Of course I wasn't." Lissa said, smirking. Hmm…Christian was rubbing off on her. What the hell? First Sydney, now Lissa. I don't see Dimitri being all smartass because of me!

**She had been expecting the explosion. She didn't run right away, despite people pushing past and shoving her aside. She stood rooted where she'd been when the statues blew up, studying them and the wreckage they'd caused.**

"Lissa…" Christian chastised gently, "You should have run immediately."

Lissa squeezed his hand, whispering, "I love when you get all concerned about me."

"Oi!" I exclaimed, interrupting their moment rudely, "Keep it for later when no one is around."

Lissa blushed but Christian looked unaffected. Several people shot me grateful looks. We all knew where their sweet moment would lead and none of us had any interest in watching them make out. Mikhail continued.

**In particular, she seemed concerned about anyone in the crowd who might have been hurt by the blasts. **

"Always so concerned." Christian said, smiling goofily at Lissa.

Lissa blushed yet again. Eddie motioned for Mikhail to read before Lissa and Christian would get carried away.

**But, no. As I'd already observed, there seemed to be no injuries. And if there were, it was going to be because of the stampede.**

Mikhail nodded as he read.

**Satisfied, Lissa turned and began walking away with the others. (Well, she was walking; they were running). She'd only gone a little distance when she saw a huge group of guardians hurrying **_**toward **_**the church, faces grim. **

"I was among them, you know," Mom said thoughtfully.

I hadn't known that.

**Some of them stopped to aid those escaping the destruction, but most of the guardians were on their way to the blast site to see what had happened.**

**Lissa paused again, causing the guy behind her to slam into her back, **

Christian narrowed his eyes.

**but she barely felt the impact. She intently watched the guardians, taking note of how many there were, and then moved on once more. Her hidden thoughts were starting to unravel.**

**Finally, I began to see pieces of the plan she'd kept hidden from me. She was pleased. Nervous, too. But overall, she felt—**

Mikhail paused. Everyone looked at him, puzzled.

**A commotion back at the jail snapped me into my own mind. The usual quiet of the holding area had shattered and was now filled with grunts and exclamations.**

"Ooh. The breakout." Lissa said, leaning forward, excited. Everyone looked excited, even the ones who had come to break me out of the jail. I smiled at their excitement, settling more comfortably into Dimitri's side.

**I leapt up from where I'd been sitting and pressed against the bars, straining to see what was happening. Was this building about to explode too? **

Christian, Eddie and Adrian laughed. Abe was chuckling and Dimitri was holding back his smile. I glared at them all. Was it wrong to think that when you had already seen statues blowing up?

**My cell only faced a wall in the hallway, with no view of the rest of the corridor or its entrance. I did, however, see the guardians who usually stood at the hall's far end come tearing past me, toward whatever altercation was occurring. I didn't know what this meant for me and braced for anything, friend or foe. **

"Good." Dimitri whispered in my ear. Now he talks!

**For all I knew, there could be some political fringe group launching attacks on the Court to make a statement against the Moroi government.**

"Not impossible," mom said quietly. "The situation was tough at that time."

I met Lissa's eyes. Some political groups had been attacking the Court when Lissa had been newly crowned. They hadn't wanted Lissa to be the queen. They had targeted Jill and had even succeeded in killing her. Adrian had brought her back by healing her, thus creating a bond between him and Jill. It had been very tough on Jill and we had to relocate her to Palm Springs. Thankfully, we had been able to silence the rebel group and Jill was now free of the threat.

**Peering around the cell, I swore silently, wishing I had anything to defend myself. The closest I had was Abe's book, which was no good at all.**

"Imagine Rose defending herself with the book," Christian said, grinning at the mental image.

"Knowing Rose, she would have pulled it off," Eddie said, smiling at me. I grinned at him.

**If he was the badass he pretended to be, he really would have slipped a file into it. **

"Hey!" Abe exclaimed indignantly. "I don't need to pretend. I _am_ a badass."

Both mom and I burst out laughing at his swearing.

"Whatever you say, old man," I said, in between chuckles. Even Dimitri was smiling, though I knew it was because I was laughing and not because he found Abe's swearing funny.

**Or gotten me something bigger, like **_**War and Peace**_**.**

Now, everyone laughed, probably imagining me swinging the book on my attacker's face.

**The scuffling died down and footsteps thundered toward me. Clenching my fists, I took a few steps back, ready to defend myself against anyone.**

"Don't hesitate." I whispered teasing in Dimitri's ear. He smirked at me. Even smirking suited him!

'**Anyone' turned out to be Eddie Castile. And Mikhail Tanner.**

Eddie did a huge show of bowing whereas Mikhail just smiled.

**Friendly faces were **_**not **_**what I had expected. **

"Guardians should expect anything." mom said wisely. I didn't respond to it.

**Eddie was a longtime friend from St. Vladimir's, another new guardian like me and someone who'd stuck by me through a lot of misadventures, **

Eddie and I grinned at each other and high-fived.

**including the Victor Dashkov prison break. **

I got a mixed reaction for that. Lissa cringed slightly, Eddie sighed, Abe smiled proudly, Christian, Sydney, Sonya and Adrian looked at me knowingly but Mikhail and mom looked shocked. Oops! I had forgotten that mom didn't know. Whatever mom was about to say was cut off by Abe. He and mom started talking about something. I didn't pay them any attention.

My attention was on Dimitri, who had flinched slightly. Victor Dashkov prison breakout was reminding him of the time in Vegas when he had tracked me down and had nearly killed me. I turned his face towards mine, looking into his eyes. I saw a slight amount of guilt in his alluring eyes. I knew he felt guilty for what he did as a strigoi but I saw that this guilt was different. He was thinking that I had gone into so much trouble for restoring him and he had turned his back on me upon his restoration.

I shook my head gently as I stroked his cheek. I didn't need to utter a single word. He could see everything I wanted to tell him in my eyes. He could see that I didn't blame them in the slightest and that I loved him soo very much. Seeing that, he smiled, his previous mood fading fast. He brushed his lips against mine and turned us both to face the others. That brief kiss left me yearning for more. But we were no Lissa and Christian, actively engaging in PDA. I sighed, internally cursing Dimitri's private nature. He chuckled suddenly as if he heard me. Everyone soon stopped whatever they were arguing about and Mikhail started reading.

**Mikhail was older than us, mid-twenties, and had helped us restore Dimitri in the hopes that Sonya Karp—a woman Mikhail had loved **

"Still love immensely," Mikhail said, looking at Sonya. She blushed.

**who had turned Strigoi—might be saved as well. **

Sonya cringed at the reference of her strigoi self. Mikhail wrapped his arms around her and read.

**I glanced back and forth between the two guys' faces.**

Adrian suppressed his laughter but Christian didn't. I really didn't get what was so funny!

'**What's going on?' I demanded.**

"And that's how you greet your saviors," Eddie said in mock-disappointment. I punched his arm lightly.

'**Nice to see you too,' said Eddie. He was sweating and keyed up with battle fervor, a few purple marks on his face showing he'd met someone's fist tonight. **

"That's a really funny way of phrasing it." Christian laughed.

"Yeah, smooth way of saying he was punched the shit out of."Adrian added before a pair of them collapsed into peals of laughter.

"Nice one, little girl," Abe said. He was laughing too. Mom shook her head, exasperated.

"Hey" Eddie cried out, "at least I fought."

I swear I heard him mutter "lazy moroi." I had to agree with that.

**In his hand was a weapon I'd seen in the guardians' arsenal: a baton-type thing used to incapacitate people without killing them. **

"I have one now," I said proudly. Eddie rolled his eyes but Dimitri smiled. I gave him a dazzling one in return. Well, at least I liked to think it was dazzling.

**But Mikhail held something much more valuable:**

"What?" Sydney asked. I mouthed, 'patience' at her. She huffed.

**The keycard and mechanical key to open my cell.**

"Oh" Sydney said quietly.

**My friends were staging a prison break. Unbelievable. Crazy was usually **_**my **_**specialty.**

"Extremely sorry for that," Eddie said sarcastically.

"Finally she realizes that she is crazy," Christian said, acting like he was sighing in relief.

Dimitri kissed my temple, murmuring, "one of my most favorite things about you."

He chuckled at my incredulous look. I always thought my crazy plans exasperated and annoyed him.

'**Did you guys . . .' I frowned. The thought of escape filled me with joy, but the logistics were sobering.**

"Since when are you bothered by logistics, little girl?" Abe asked.

"Sometimes," I answered dismissively. "And stop calling me that," I added as an afterthought. I was used to being called 'little girl' by Abe that it usually escaped my notice that I hated being called that.

"Only when you stop calling me old man," Abe retorted, "I am not old, you know."

I scoffed. "Never will I stop calling you that, _old man_." I said, provoking him further into verbal battle.

Everyone was looking amused at our banter. Before it could become more, mom intervened and gestured to Mikhail to continue reading.

**Clearly, they'd been responsible for the fight with my guards that I'd just heard. Getting down here in the first place wasn't that easy either. 'Did you two just take on every guardian in this building?'**

"They aren't that badass as to take on all the guardians," Christian said, matter of factly.

Eddie narrowed his eyes at Christian while Mikhail didn't bother reacting to it.

"Did you really assume they took on every guardian in the building?" mom asked, looking surprised that I had made such a stupid assessment.

"Hey!" I defended myself, "there was no other logical explanation for them appearing all of a sudden."

Mom muttered something under her breath that sounded like "….should have realized that all guardians went to check the explosion site…."

I ignored her.

**Mikhail finished unlocking the door and I didn't waste any time in hurrying out. After feeling so oppressed and smothered for days, it was like stepping onto a mountain ledge, wind and space all around me.**

"You were saying something about not being poetic?" Adrian asked, barely containing his laughter.

"It was an observation." I said with dignity.

"Yeah. Feeling like you have stepped on a mountain ledge is totally _observation,_" Christian mocked.

"Hey, you would feel that way too if you had been imprisoned for so long." I retorted.

"Enough Christian," Lissa chided gently, "Rose has every right to have felt that way."

"That doesn't make it not poetic," Christian whined, not wanting to lose to me.

Lissa just rolled her eyes at him and gestured for Mikhail to start reading again.

'**Rose, there are no guardians in this building. Well, maybe one. And these guys.' Eddie gestured in the direction of the earlier fight, where I assumed my guards lay unconscious. Surely my friends hadn't killed anyone.**

"Like we would do that," Eddie said, shaking his head.

'**The rest of the guardians are all checking out the explosion,' I realized. **

"Finally she realizes," mom muttered. I heard her as I was sitting in the couch adjacent to hers. Abe grinned, hearing her as well. I shot them both a pissed off look, only to get grins in return. I shook my head before leaning back on Dimitri's shoulder.

**Pieces began coming together—including Lissa's lack of surprise over the commotion. 'Oh no. You had Christian blow up ancient Moroi artifacts.'**

"I wouldn't have minded." Christian said brightly.

He quickly backtracked on seeing the expression on Lissa's face, "oh no. I wouldn't do such a thing. Not at all."

Everyone including Lissa laughed. Lissa sure had him under her control!

'**Of course not,' said Eddie. He seemed shocked that I would have suggested such an atrocity. **

"I was," Eddie admitted.

'**Other fire users would be able to tell if he did.'**

"That is why we didn't use him, little girl." Abe said, superiorly.

"I know" I said, "now," I added in a lower voice.

But being Abe, he heard me. He shot me a smug grin.

'**Well, that's something,' I said. I should have had more faith in their sanity.**

"You are questioning our sanity?" asked Christian in mock-disbelief. "Insane questioning if the sane have a sane mind," he muttered.

I laughed, "Well, that sentence of yours proves who is sane and who is not," I said victoriously.

Eddie and Adrian laughed as well while the rest ignored us. I could tell that they were getting fed up of our banter.

**Or maybe not.**

Eyebrows rose questioningly.

'**We used C4,' explained Mikhail.**

'**Where on earth did you—'**

**My tongue locked up when I saw who was standing at the end of the hallway. **

"Who was it that made Rose stop talking?" Christian asked curiously.

**Dimitri.**

"Of course," Sydney said teasingly.

Dimitri smiled.

**Not knowing how he was during my imprisonment had been frustrating. **

"As we all saw in the previous chapters," Adrian noted.

**Christian and Tasha's report had been only a tease. Well, here was the answer. Dimitri stood near the hall's entrance in all his six-foot-seven glory, as imperious and intimidating as any god.**

"Roza…" Dimitri sighed, exasperated that I had called him a god yet again. Well, thought of him as a god. But there was a hint of smile on his lips.

"Don't act as if you don't like it," I whispered to him. His smile broadened slightly.

"Well, she has got the imperious and intimidating thing right," Christian said, smiling at Dimitri. Christian respected Dimitri a lot and the two had become thick friends. Christian rarely complimented anyone but when he did, he meant it. Dimitri knew that as well. He smiled back at Christian.

Eddie looked at Dimitri respectfully. I knew that he held Dimitri as a sort of role model. Even Adrian had admitted that he respected Dimitri.

I smiled happily, ecstatic that Dimitri was so well respected. Each time anyone praised Dimitri, it was I who would feel great pride and joy. I loved that the world could appreciate what a god he was.

**His sharp brown eyes assessed everything in an instant, and his strong, lean body was tensed and ready for any threat. **

"It's weird to hear about how I look," Dimitri whispered to me.

"Get used to it," I whispered back. I was sure I would describe him frequently in the book. That is the extent of his effect on me. I automatically note his expression, the emotion in his eyes, and his posture at all times. I just hope this book is not that detailed. I am sure my friends would not appreciate reading about Dimitri's reactions in all situations.

**The look on his face was so focused, so filled with passion, that I couldn't believe anyone ever could have thought he was a Strigoi.**

Dimitri sighed and rested his head on top of mine.

**Dimitri burned with life and energy. **

"_You_ burn with life and energy," Dimitri said softly. I just interlocked our fingers. He thinks I am passionate and I think he is. What a pair we are!

**In fact, looking at him now, I was again reminded of how he'd stood up for me at my arrest. He wore that same expression.**

"You noticed that, huh?" Dimitri whispered again my hair. I craned my neck upward to shoot him a 'duh' look and then returned to my initial position.

**Really, it was the same one I'd seen countless times. It was the one people feared and admired. **

"You sure held him up at very high regard," mom said, an odd note in her voice.

I shifted to look at her, "hold," I corrected her softly,

**It was the one I had loved.**

"Really?" Dimitri asked me tenderly, lifting my chin up so that I could look him in the eye. I smiled softly, letting him see the truth in my eyes. He smiled and kissed my forehead. Though I loved that warrior expression of his, my favorite is his relaxed expression. I had never seen it before while at the academy. I thought he was most relaxed when Tasha had visited. How wrong I was! That was a shadow of his real relaxed one, the one he wore when it is only me and him, without the tension of duty or any other matters. When all we worried about was the other!

'**You're here too?' I tried reminding myself that my muddled romantic history wasn't the most important thing in the world for a change.**

Some chuckled.

'**Aren't you under house arrest?'**

'**He escaped,' said Eddie slyly. I caught the real meaning: he and Mikhail had **_**helped **_**Dimitri**** escape. 'It's what people would expect some violent probably-still-a-Strigoi guy to do, right?'**

Abe and Eddie nodded.

"Almost everyone brought it," Lissa said, frowning, "except Hans."

"I know," I said, "I was actually in your head when you were called in for questioning by Hans."

Lissa looked shocked.

"What?" I asked, puzzled at her reaction.

"Nothing," she mumbled, "I thought you would be way too busy to check up on me."

I scoffed. As if I'd ever forget to do that.

'**You'd also expect him to come bust you out,' added Mikhail, playing along with the game. 'Especially considering how he fought for you last week. **

Lissa sighed quietly. I shot her a questioning look.

"It's so romantic," she said dreamily, "the girl is in trouble and the guy does everything possible to rescue her."

Christian and I rolled at our eyes at Lissa's obsession with romance while Dimitri chuckled. All three of us were quite used to it.

**Really, everyone is going to think he busted you out **_**alone**_**. Not with us.'**

**Dimitri said nothing. His eyes, while still carefully watching our surroundings, were also assessing me.**

"I tried not to make it noticeable," Dimitri confessed.

"You failed, didn't you?" I said, teasing him.

"No Roza, I didn't. I am sure only you noticed me assessing you." He replied.

Eddie and Mikhail nodded, confirming his words.

"I can read you that well," I said, quickly turning the tables.

"That you can," Dimitri admitted, amused at my spontaneity. He should know that I won't be backed into a corner.

**He was making sure I was okay and uninjured. He looked relieved that I was.**

"I was relieved. But I convinced myself that the relief was just plain concern for my former student." Dimitri said to me, eyes distant as he remembered his feeling then.

'**Come on,' Dimitri finally said. 'We don't have much time.' That was an understatement, but there was one thing bugging me about my friends' 'brilliant' plan.**

"What?" Abe asked, surprised that something in his brilliant plan had bugged me.

'**There's no way they'll think **_**he **_**did it alone!' I exclaimed, realizing what Mikhail was getting at. They were setting Dimitri up as the culprit in this escape. I gestured to the unconscious guardians at our feet. 'They saw your faces.'**

"That they did," mom said, "how on earth did they believe that Dimitri did it alone?"

Mikhail answered her by continuing to read.

'**Not really,' a new voice said. 'Not after a little spirit-induced amnesia. By the time they wake up, the only person they'll remember seeing will be that unstable Russian guy. No offense.'**

"Here comes my fantastic entry, trying to rescue a damsel in distress," Adrian said loudly.

Sydney and Lissa groaned at his overacting while I glared at him.

"What was it about _rescuing_ a _damsel in distress_?" I asked, threateningly.

"Nothing at all, little dhampir." He stuttered.

"Good" I said as I leaned back on Dimitri.

'**None taken,' said Dimitri, as Adrian stepped through the doorway.**

**I stared, trying not to gape. There they were together, the two men in my life. **

Adrian grinned in amusement, seeing as how there never was anything very serious with us. Dimitri looked like he didn't like the fact that there were two men in my life at one point. But he should know better! Hadn't I told him that he was the only one I ever loved?

**Adrian hardly looked like he could jump into a fistfight, but he was as alert and serious as the other fighters here. His lovely eyes were clear and full of the cunning I knew they could possess when he really tried. **

"The eyes are really something, aren't they?" Sydney asked softly, looking deep into Adrian's eyes.

I shrugged nonchalantly. While it was true that Adrian's green eyes were lovely, I preferred the deep brown ones, mysterious and alluring, the ones that sparkled in amusement, ones in whose depth I could get lost and not want to come back. God! I was being so sappy! But that's what Dimitri did to me!

**That's when it hit me: he showed no sign of intoxication whatsoever. **

"Impressive" Sydney murmured.

**Had what I'd seen the other day been a ruse? **

"Yes," said Adrian grinning. Abe smirked; possibly because it was his 'brilliant idea' that Adrian should appear drunk in order to alleviate any suspicions that might fall on him.

**Or had he forced himself to take control?**

"Why yes, of course," Adrian said, his grin so large that his face seems to be split into two. Sydney looked proud of him and looked happy to see Adrian's grin. As for Eddie, Christian and I….well that grin was a source of paramount hilarity!

**Either way, I felt a slow grin creeping over my face.**

Now I was practically guffawing.

'**Lissa lied to your mom earlier,' I said. 'You're supposed to be passed out drunk somewhere.'**

**He rewarded me with one of his cynical smiles. 'Well, yes, that would probably be the smarter**

Sydney raised her eyebrow, no doubt questioning how being drunk was a smart option.

—**and more enjoyable—**

Sydney frowned.

**thing to be doing right now. And hopefully, that's what everyone thinks I'm doing.'**

'**We need to go,' said Dimitri, growing agitated.**

"Thank god, at least he has some sense," mom muttered. "You could have bantered later, you know," she continued, looking at me and Adrian.

I rolled my eyes.

**We turned toward him. Our jokes vanished. That attitude I'd noticed about Dimitri, the one that said he could do anything and would always lead you to victory, made people want to follow him unconditionally. **

Dimitri shook his head yet again.

"Its true," Christian, Eddie, Lissa and I chorused together. Everyone else looked like they agreed.

Dimitri just smiled at us. He was way too modest!

**The expressions on Mikhail and Eddie's faces—as they grew serious—showed that was exactly how they felt.**

Eddie and Mikhail nodded. I gave Dimitri an 'I told you so' look. He rolled his eyes.

**It seemed natural to me too. **

Adrian smirked and opened his mouth to comment but my glare silenced him.

**Even Adrian looked like he believed in Dimitri, **

Dimitri smiled at Adrian who smiled back. They both respected each other a lot and had become good friends now. You would never guess that these two disliked each other 2 years ago.

**and in that moment, I admired Adrian for putting aside any jealousy—and also for risking himself like this. **

Sydney smiled at me for praising Adrian. She had been the only one who had truly believed in Adrian, who had helped him get over all the heartache I had caused. She was his pillar just like he was hers. She was very proud of the man he was today.

**Especially since Adrian had made it clear on more than one occasion he didn't want to be involved with any dangerous adventures or use his spirit in a covert way. In Las Vegas, for example, he'd simply accompanied us in an observer's role. **

"You went too?" mom asked, surprised. I could tell that she was wondering if he came with us to break Victor out of Tarasov.

"I didn't go with them." Adrian clarified, "I met up with them in Vegas."

**Of course, he'd also been drunk most of the time, but that probably made no difference.**

"Hey!" Adrian protested.

"It's true," Christian said snarkily.

Adrian opened his mouth to deny it but realized that he couldn't. He opened and closed his mouth several times like a fish. We all laughed at his expression.

**I took a few steps forward, but Adrian suddenly held out a hand to stop me. 'Wait— before you go with us, you need to know something.' **

Everyone looked curious.

**Dimitri started to protest, eyes glinting with impatience.**

"I was," Dimitri admitted, "we were on a tight schedule."

'**She **_**does**_**,' argued Adrian, meeting Dimitri's gaze squarely.**

"Not many can do that," Lissa praised Adrian. That was certainly true!

'**Rose, if you escape . . . you're more or less confirming your guilt. You'll be a fugitive. If the guardians find you, they aren't going to need a trial or sentence to kill you on sight.'**

Abe looked exasperated that Adrian had wasted time in telling me this. Looks like Dimitri's and Abe's thoughts are on the same line. I shuddered at that.

**Four sets of eyes rested on me as the full meaning sank in. If I ran now and was caught, I was dead for sure.**

"Thank god the plan worked smoothly," Lissa whispered.

"Of course it worked smoothly, Lissa." Abe said indignantly.

"Yeah Liss, how can you doubt the plan?" I asked sarcastically, "it was the mastermind zmey's plan after all."

"Glad to see you've learnt that," Abe said smugly.

I scoffed and leaned back against Dimitri. Sarcasm was wasted on Abe!

**If I stayed, I had the slim chance that in my short time before trial, we might find evidence to save me. **

"As you said, it was a slim chance," Mikhail said.

I nodded, agreeing with him.

**It wasn't impossible. But if nothing turned up, I was also most certainly dead. Either option was a gamble. Either one had the strong possibility of me not surviving.**

Lissa breathed in deeply. Christian hugged her closer.

**Adrian looked as conflicted as I felt. We both knew I didn't have any good choices. He was simply worried and wanted me to know what I was risking.**

"Smart choice," mom said to Adrian.

Abe looked like he didn't agree in the slightest.

**Dimitri, however . . . for him, there was no debate. I could see it all over his face. He was an advocate of rules **

Mom smiled slightly, approvingly. I knew she respected Dimitri a lot, though she certainly didn't approve of what had transpired between us in the academy. Still, she had grown to see him as family in the past two years.

**and doing the proper thing. But in this case? With such bad odds? It was better to risk living as a fugitive, and if death came, better to face it fighting.**

"And you guessed all that by looking at his face?" mom asked incredulously.

"What can I say?" I said, smiling at Dimitri. "I know him that well."

He gave me a real smile, one of those for which I lived. I felt warm all over and couldn't help but lean in and kiss his cheek. Before he could react, I turned around and leant back against him. He stroked my hair softly.

_**My death will not be penciled in on someone's calendar.**_

'**Let's go,' I said.**

"That was it, wasn't it?" I asked, looking into Dimitri's eyes. He nodded and smiled. I grinned back at him, happy that I had finally guessed his motivation for wanting to hurry. It wasn't just the tight schedule. He knew that I would choose to run, that I'd rather escape and face death fighting than be executed. That's why he had been hurrying us, having already known what my choice would be.

**We hurried out of the building, anxious to get moving with the plan. I couldn't help but comment to Adrian, 'You've got to be using a lot of spirit to pull off all those illusions on the guards.'**

'**I am,' he agreed. 'And I don't really have the power to do it for very long. Lissa could probably make a dozen guardians think they'd seen ghosts. **

Lissa grinned.

**Me? I can barely make a few forget Eddie and Mikhail. That's why there had to be someone they remembered to attract the attention, and Dimitri's the ideal scapegoat.'**

'**Well, thank you.' I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. As warmth flowed between us, **

I felt Dimitri tense slightly. I would have to talk to him soon. Even though he knew that I loved him, I could tell that the topic of Adrian and I was a little sore for him. Moreover, I hadn't told Dimitri that I didn't sleep with Adrian at all, simply because it had never come up. Yes, I will have to talk to him.

I could see Adrian whispering to something to Sydney. Looks like Dimitri and I aren't the only couple who should have 'a talk'.

**I didn't bother telling him I was a long way from being free yet. It would diminish his heroics. We had a lot of obstacles ahead, but I still appreciated him stepping up like this and respecting my decision to go along with the escape plan.**

"Thank you, little dhampir, for those oh so kind words," Adrian said, grinning smugly.

"Don't get used to it," Christian warned, anticipating my response.

I huffed.

**Adrian shot me a sidelong glance. 'Yeah, well, I'm supposed to be crazy, right?' A flash of affection shone in his eyes.**

Sydney looked uneasy. I would be too if I was in her place. Just the thought of seeing affection in Dimitri's eyes for another woman, I felt anger rise up in me. But he would never, I knew that.

'**And there isn't much I wouldn't do for you. The stupider, the better.'**

"Stupid things your _forte_," Christian said to Adrian.

"Yeah, stupider the better," I said, quoting him.

"Amen to that," Eddie saluted.

"As if you guys are better," Adrian scoffed, and then cowered under the weight of three powerful glares.

**We emerged to the main floor, and I saw that Eddie had been right about guardian security.**

"I am always right," Eddie said with an Adrian like smirk.

"Oh god! Another Adrian. Run for cover!" Christian shouted.

Lissa, Sydney and I burst out laughing while Eddie and Adrian glared at Christian who rolled his eyes at them.

**Sorry for posting only half the chapter! I will post the next half tomorrow **

**Anyways, do you like it so far? Please review and let me know!**


	7. Reading chapter four- part 2

**Hey! I promised an update today so here it is….continuation of the last chapter **

**DISCLAIMER: ****Richelle Mead owns the characters, not me, though I would love to have Rose and Dimitri as my guardians!**

**RPOV**

Mikhail continued reading…

**The halls and rooms were virtually deserted. Without a second glance, we hurried outdoors, and the fresh air seemed to renew my energy.**

'**Now what?' I asked my rescuers.**

"Wow. Rose finally realized that we rescued her from the deadly jail." Eddie said, grinning.

"I never claimed otherwise," I said off-handedly.

'**Now we take you to the getaway car,' said Eddie.**

**The garages weren't far, but they weren't close either. **

'**That's a lot of open ground to cover,' I said. I didn't bring up the obvious problem: me being killed if spotted.**

"Surprise, surprise!" Christian said, "You always mention the obvious."

"Change of times," I muttered.

'**I'm using spirit to keep us all vague and nondescript,' said Adrian. More testing of his magic. He couldn't handle much more. 'People won't recognize us unless they stop and stare directly at us.'**

'**Which they probably won't,' said Mikhail. 'If anyone even notices us at all. Everyone's too worried about themselves to pay much attention to others in all this chaos.'**

Abe nodded. I must say, his plan was pretty good. Not that I'd ever admit it.

**Looking around outside, I could see he was right. The jail building was far from the church, but by now, people who'd been near the blast had made their way to this part of Court. Some were running into their residences. Some were seeking guardians, hoping for protection. **

"Cowards" Christian muttered.

**And some . . . some were going the same direction we were, toward the garages.**

'**People are freaked out enough to actually try to leave Court,' I realized. Our group was moving as fast as we could with Adrian, who wasn't in the same shape as dhampirs. **

"Hey! I am in great shape." Adrian said defensively.

I scoffed, "whatever helps you sleep in the night, Adrian."

'**The garages will be crowded.' Both official Court vehicles and visiting guests parked in the same area.**

'**That could help us,' said Mikhail. 'More chaos.'**

"The success of your plans depended on chaos," Sydney noted.

"Yup," I agreed.

**With so many distractions in my own reality, I couldn't plunge completely into Lissa's. **

"Shut your mouth," I ordered Adrian on seeing his on the brink of commenting.

"But you don't even know what I would have said," Adrian whined.

"I think we all have a pretty good idea," Sydney said dryly.

Adrian muttered something under his breath that earned him an elbow from his girlfriend.

**A light brush of the bond found her safe, over in the palace.**

"Even in the middle of such a dangerous situation you were worried about Lissa's safety?" mom asked rhetorically.

Lissa and I smiled at each other.

'**What's Lissa doing during all of this?' I asked.**

"I figured it was only a matter of time before you asked me that," Adrian said.

**Believe me, I was glad she wasn't involved with this busting-me-out-of-jail madness. **

Lissa shook her head, looking as if she regretted not being a part of Operation: bust Rose out of jail.

Christian and I glared at her and she smiled innocently at us.

**But, as Adrian had noted, her ability with spirit could have gone much farther than his here. **

"It sure would have." Lissa said thoughtfully.

"Hey! I did just fine," Adrian said indignantly.

"Of course" Lissa replied, pacifying him.

**And now, looking back on it all, it was obvious she had known about this plan.**

**That had been her secret.**

'**Lissa needs to stay innocent. She can't be linked to any part of the escape or explosion,' replied Dimitri, eyes fixed ahead on his goal. His tone was firm. He still regarded her as his savior. **

Lissa shook her head and Dimitri looked at me apologetically.

I glared at him, making it clear that I did not need his apologies. He hadn't been wrong…after all it had been Lissa who had wielded the stake. And really, me noting how Dimitri regarded her as his savior had just been my jealousy talking.

'**She has to keep herself visible with the other royals. So does Christian.' He almost smiled. Almost.**

Hearing that, he gave a fully fledged grin. He has loosened up a lot in these two years. He smiles a lot more now, is more relaxed but still is the same Dimitri that I had fallen in love with back at the academy, just not stoic anymore when off-duty.

'**Those two would certainly be my first suspects if something exploded.'**

"Thanks for the faith, D." Christian said, giving Dimitri a lopsided smile.

"You know it's true." Dimitri replied. "You wouldn't have minded destroying the statues."

"Certainly not," Christian agreed. "Still…"

Dimitri rolled his eyes while Lissa and I smiled amusedly at them.

'**But the guardians won't suspect them once they realize the blast wasn't caused by magic,' I mused. Mikhail's earlier words returned to me. 'And hey, where **_**did **_**you guys get a hold of C4? Military grade explosives are kind of extreme, even for you.'**

"I should have immediately realized that it was Abe." I mused.

"You should have," Abe said lazily, "not everyone gets such an amazing father."

"Sorry, your highness," I replied sarcastically, "my mistake."

Abe smirked.

**No one answered me because three guardians suddenly leapt out into our path.**

Lissa gasped, making me grin. Really, her reactions were amusing.

**Apparently, they weren't all out at the church. Dimitri and I surged ahead of our group, moving as one, just as we always had in battle together. **

"The synchronity," Sonya said, smiling.

Dimitri kissed my forehead. I rested my head on his shoulder, fully leaning on him.

**Adrian had said the illusion he'd stretched over our group wouldn't hold if anyone was facing us directly. I wanted to make sure Dimitri and I were the first line of contact with these guardians, in the hopes they wouldn't recognize the others behind us.**

I could tell that even Dimitri had thought the same thing.

**I threw myself into the fight without hesitation, defensive instincts kicking in. But in those milliseconds, the reality of what I was doing truly sank in.**

**I'd fought guardians before and always felt guilty about it. **

"As you should," mom said, unable to help herself. I realized that the best thing to do was avoid replying to her. She didn't like that I had broken so many rules in my life but it had been necessary (or so I thought!).

Her methods and my methods were totally different.

As Dimitri repeatedly reminded me, the best way to avoid arguments with her was by ignoring her chiding words.

**I'd taken on the ones at Tarasov Prison, as well as the queen's guard during my arrest. **

Abe looked proud. At least one of my parents approve of my methods!

**I hadn't really known any of them, though. Just realizing they were my colleagues had been bad enough . . . but now? Now I was facing one of the most difficult challenges in my life, as small as it seemed.**

Eddie, Mikhail and Dimitri looked at me empathetically. They knew the emotional conflict that arose when you had to face off against your own.

**After all, three guardians were an easy match for me and Dimitri. The problem was—I **_**knew **_**these guardians. Two of them I'd run into quite a bit after graduation. They worked at Court and had always been kind to me.**

"You would be surprised at how many guardians actually like you." Mikhail said, smiling at me.

I was shocked! I knew that most of guardians respected me. But like? Huh! I hadn't known that I made a good impression. Dimitri laughed quietly at my shocked look. He also looked kinda proud of me. That made me smile. Damn the others! As long as I am able to please my loved ones.

**The third guardian wasn't just someone I knew—she was a friend.**

"Who?" Lissa asked anxiously.

Mikhail continued reading.

**Meredith, **

Lissa gasped and covered her mouth. I and several others laughed at reaction.

**one of the few girls in my class at St. Vladimir's. I saw the flash of uneasiness in her eyes, a sentiment mirroring my own. This felt wrong to her too. But, she was a guardian now, and like me, she had had duty drilled into her throughout her life. **

Mom nodded.

**She believed I was a criminal. She could see I was free and in attack mode. Procedure dictated she take me down, and honestly, I wouldn't have expected anything less. It's what I would have done had our roles been reversed. This was life and death.**

Everyone who hadn't been there looked anxious to hear about mine and Meredith's fight.

**Dimitri was on the other two guys, as fast and badass as ever.**

I smiled at Dimitri.

**Meredith and I went for each other. At first, she tried to knock me down by virtue of her weight, probably in the hopes of pinning me down until backup could help grab me. Only, I was stronger. **

Mom and Dimitri smiled proudly.

**She should have known that. How many times had we sparred in the school's gym? I'd almost always won.**

"True," Eddie murmured. I had been the best in class, even if I say so myself.

**And this was no game, no practice drill. I pushed back at her attack, punching her on the side of her jaw and desperately praying I didn't break anything. **

"Always so caring," Lissa said smiling at me.

Christian smiled then switched back to his sarcastic self by remarking, "Yeah. Rosie is just tough on the outside. Inside, she is a softie."

"I'll show you softie," I growled.

He paled even though he knew I would never hurt him. Despite the pallor, he rolled his eyes. Typical Christian!

**She kept moving through the pain, but—again—I was superior. I caught a hold of her shoulders and threw her down. Her head hit hard, but she remained conscious. I didn't know whether to be grateful or not. **

"You shouldn't be grateful. After all, you needed to defeat her in order to escape." Mom commented.

I nodded even though I knew I could never be grateful that Meredith had been knocked out. She was my friend….even if she had been the opposition at that time.

**Maintaining my grip, I put her in a chokehold, waiting until her eyes closed. I released as soon as I was sure she was out, my heart twisting in my chest.**

Lissa, Dimitri and Eddie looked sad. They could understand just how much I had hated doing that.

**Glancing over, I saw Dimitri had also taken down his opponents. Our group kept moving as though nothing had happened, but I glanced at Eddie, knowing there was grief on my face. He looked pained too but sought to reassure me as we hurried along.**

"Just like a perfect big brother," Sydney said, smiling at me and Eddie.

It hadn't taken her long to figure out that Eddie looked out for me like he would for a little sister. And I knew that Eddie saw Sydney as a sister too. He often told me how she would advise him when he was confused. We both had a really caring brother.

'**You did what you had to,' he said. 'She'll be okay. Banged up, but okay.'**

'**I hit her hard.'**

'**The medics can deal with concussions. Hell, how many did we get in practice?'**

**I hoped he was right. **

"He was, Roza." Dimitri said soothingly.

I just sighed against his chest. I had actually apologized to Meredith after all the chaos and she had accepted it, saying that she understood why I had to knock her out. Still, I felt guilty listening to it now. But Eddie and Dimitri were right. She hadn't suffered any lasting damage.

**The lines between right and wrong were getting confusing. **

I felt Dimitri nod at my statement but I didn't look up at him.

**The one good thing, I supposed, was that Meredith had been so occupied by the sight of me that she probably hadn't noticed Eddie and the others. They'd held back from the fight, hopefully keeping on Adrian's veil of spirit while Dimitri and I took the attention. We finally reached the garages, which were indeed more crowded than usual. Some Moroi had already driven off. One royal was hysterical because her driver had her car's keys, and she didn't know where he was. She was shouting to passers-by to see if anyone could hotwire the car for her.**

"Crazy lady," Eddie and Christian muttered in unison.

**Dimitri led us purposefully forward, never wavering. He knew exactly where we were going. There had been a lot of planning, I realized. **

Abe nodded and said, "A whole day of planning actually."

That was why Lissa had blocked me the entire day! I had figured that she kept thinking about the plan after it had been hatched so she blocked me to make sure that I didn't read her thoughts. But they actually sat and planned for a _whole _day?

**Most of which had probably happened yesterday. Why had Lissa obscured it from me? Wouldn't it have been better for me to have a heads-up on the plan?**

"I know, I know." I muttered irritably on seeing everyone open their mouth to explain the reason to me.

**We scurried through the people, heading toward the garage on the very farthest side. There, sitting just outside of it and seemingly ready to go, was a drab gray Honda Civic.**

**A man stood near it, arms crossed as he examined the windshield. Hearing our approach, he turned around.**

'**Abe!' I exclaimed.**

"Ah! Finally my part," Abe said, satisfied that he had resurfaced again after the first chapter.

**My illustrious father**

Cue: huge smirk by the said man.

**turned and gave me one of those charming smiles that could lure the unwary to their doom.**

Mom laughed at my description but Abe looked proud that I had grasped that.

"Did you know that even you have a smile like that?" Dimitri asked me curiously.

"I do not!" I exclaimed.

"You do actually." Lissa said, smiling widely. "You get it when some devious plan forms in your head."

"Like plans to lure others to troubles," Eddie grumbled, probably remembering the times when I had gotten him in trouble in the Academy.

"You smile that smile when you have some mischievous thought usually," Dimitri finished.

I gaped at them all, causing them to laugh heartily. Why wasn't I aware that I had a smile similar to my father's?

'**What are you doing here?' demanded Dimitri. 'You'll be on the list of suspects too! You were supposed to stay back with the others.'**

"You demanded?" Sydney asked, surprised that Dimitri had the guts to speak that way to zmey.

"Seriously Syd, he was like a man possessed that day," I said, nudging Dimitri. "He didn't care that it was zmey he was speaking to."

Dimitri rolled his eyes. It was true that Dimitri didn't fear zmey. He and Abe actually had built a sort of bond in these two years. Abe had whole- heartedly welcomed Dimitri into the family (if I can use that term for us!). He had witnessed my grief in the Belikov house when Dimitri had been turned and understood just how I much I loved Dimitri. That didn't mean that Abe hadn't tried to scare Dimitri at first. But all was well now…

**Abe shrugged. He looked remarkably unconcerned at Dimitri's angry expression. **

Zmey smirked at Dimitri. A slight smile crossed Dimitri's lips.

**I wouldn't have wanted that fury directed at me. **

"You will never have it directed at you," Dimitri said softly.

I smiled at him and kissed his cheek, looking forward to spending some time alone with him.

'**Vasilisa will make sure a few people at the palace swear they saw me there during suspicious times.' He turned his dark eyes toward me. 'Besides, I couldn't leave without telling you goodbye, could I?'**

"Of course not," mom said, smiling at Abe.

**I shook my head in exasperation. 'Was this all part of your plan as my lawyer? I don't recall explosive escapes being part of legal training.'**

"I am sure it isn't part of Damon Tarus's training," Adrian said.

Mikhail glanced at the book and smirked before reading it aloud.

'**Well, I'm sure it wasn't part of Damon Tarus's legal training.' **

Adrian looked horrified that he had thought like Zmey. All of us, Abe included, laughed at his expression.

**Abe's smile never wavered. 'I told you, Rose. You will never face execution—or even a trial, if I can help it.' He paused. 'Which, of course, I can.'**

"Most definitely," Abe confirmed.

**I hesitated, glancing toward the car. Dimitri stood by it with a set of keys, looking impatient. **

"That might have been one of the very few times that I saw you impatient," I told Dimitri.

**Adrian's words echoed in my memory.**

Adrian smirked.

'**If I run, it's just going to make me seem that much more guilty.'**

'**They already think you're guilty,' said Abe. 'You wasting away in that cell won't change that. This just ensures we now have more time to do what we need to without your execution looming over us.'**

'**And what are you going to do exactly?'**

'**Prove you're innocent,' said Adrian. 'Or, well, that you didn't kill my aunt. I've known for a while you aren't all that innocent.'**

"Adrian" Sydney chastised. "You are in such a dangerous situation yet you are teasing her."

"Couldn't help it, sugarplum." Adrian said, grinning.

Sydney sighed in exasperation.

'**What, are you guys going to destroy the evidence?' I asked, ignoring the dig.**

"Like we could" Christian scoffed, "it had maximum security."

"Aunt Tatiana too had maximum security," Adrian said grimly, "look how that ended up."

"That's not the point." Eddie said quickly. "The point is that the evidence against Rose had already been used in the trial. Destroying it would have made Rose look guiltier."

Abe nodded and Mikhail continued.

'**No,' said Eddie. 'We have to find who really did kill her.'**

'**You guys shouldn't be involved with that, now that I'm free. It's my problem. Isn't that why you got me out?'**

"Nope" Lissa said, smiling so wide that her fangs could be seen.

"Yeah." I replied, "You got me out to stash me away in the wilderness of West Virginia."

Sydney and Dimitri gave me a wry look that I promptly ignored.

"Should have remained stashed away," Abe grumbled, angry that he had been out of the loop.

Poor guy! He had believed that I was safe in West Virginia when actually I was fighting strigoi and camping with the Keepers!

'**It's a problem you can't solve while you're at Court,' said Abe. 'We need you gone and safe.'**

"And _safe_ you did not stay," Abe said, glaring at me.

I poked my tongue out at him.

'**Yeah, but I—'**

"You are wasting time" mom hissed, as though it were the present.

"It's the past, mom" I said, stating the obvious.

Mom looked slightly embarrassed.

'**We're wasting time arguing,' said Dimitri. **

I looked from Dimitri to mom with an expression of mock horror. Everyone laughed while mom and Dimitri rolled their eyes.

**His gaze fell on the other garages. The crowds were still chaotic, too busy with their own fears to notice us yet. That didn't affect Dimitri's concern. **

"What if they had?" Dimitri asked me, "We needed to leave."

"Yeah yeah," I said, waving it off.

Dimitri chuckled. That was the thing about Dimitri….had it been anyone else, they would have been annoyed, well anyone except Lissa. Sometimes, I almost feel as if God has equipped them with some special ability to be able to tolerate my actions and remarks!

**He handed me a silver stake, and I didn't question the reasons. It was a weapon, something I couldn't turn down. **

"When are you able to turn down a weapon?" Eddie asked, "You love them."

"Yeah, to wreak havoc around herself." Christian commented.

"I don't need weapons to create havoc," I said smugly.

"You can cause enough destruction just by being present there," Adrian laughed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked indignantly.

But he didn't answer. He was busy laughing at his joke.

'**I know everything looks disorganized, but you'll be amazed at how quickly the guardians will restore order. **

All the guardians nodded, smiling.

**And when they do, they're going to lock this place down.'**

'**They don't need to,' I said slowly, my mind spinning. **

"Of course you are slow. It takes time for that mind of yours to spin." Christian joked.

"It's faster than yours though." I replied which wiped the smirk off his face.

"Please continue, Mikhail," Lissa requested hastily.

Mikhail started reading, not giving Christian any time to reply.

I smirked, Hathaway 1, Ozera 0.

'**We're already going to have trouble going out of Court. We'll be stopped—if we can even get to the gate. There are going to be cars lined up for miles!'**

'**Ah, well,' said Abe, idly studying his fingertips. **

"Drama king," I muttered under my breath. Dimitri shot me an amused look.

'**I have it on good authority there's going to be a new 'gate' opening up soon over on the south side of the wall.'**

**The truth dawned on me. **

"Took you long enough." Christian muttered. I narrowed my eyes at him.

'**Oh lord. You're the one who's been doling out C4.'**

Mom looked at Abe then looked away, muttering something.

'**You make it sound so easy,' he said with a frown. 'That stuff's hard to get a hold of.'**

"It is hard." Abe confirmed. "I had to use several of my contacts to get it."

"Wonder how many threats he used," I said quietly to Dimitri. He shrugged.

**Dimitri's patience was at an end.**

"I don't think I've ever seen you lose patience," Sydney said speculatively to Dimitri. Everyone looked like they agreed.

"Believe me, he loses his patience plenty of times," I sighed, "Mostly where I am concerned."

"_Only_ where you are concerned, Roza." Dimitri corrected me.

He was right. I think I am the only one who has actually seen him lose patience. He is usually so good in hiding his feelings that he can mask his impatience very well.

'**All of you: Rose needs to leave **_**now**_**. She's in danger. I'll drag her out if I have to.'**

Christian, Adrian and Eddie laughed, probably imagining the tough Rose Hathaway being dragged away by her former mentor. I didn't laugh. I knew he would have dragged me away if we hadn't stopped bantering then.

'**You don't have to go with me,' I shot back, kind of offended at the presumption.**

"I knew it." Dimitri stated softly.

**Memories of our recent arguments emerged, of Dimitri saying he couldn't love me and didn't even want to be friends. '**

Dimitri grimaced on being reminded of what he had told me in the Church. I vaguely recalled the words "Love fades. Mine has." Just as quickly, my mind replayed all his adoring whispers and all his proclamations of love. I smiled at the happy memories. They had almost erased those four awful words.

**I'll take care of myself. No one else needs to get in trouble. Give me the keys.'**

**Instead, Dimitri gave me one of those rueful looks that said he thought I was being utterly ridiculous.**

Everyone chuckled.

**We could have been back in class at St. Vladimir's Academy.**

Dimitri and I smiled at each other, remembering all those stolen moments back at the academy

'**Rose, I can't really get in any more trouble. Someone has to be responsible for helping you, and I'm the best choice.' I wasn't so sure of that. If Tatiana really had made progress in convincing people Dimitri wasn't a threat, this escapade would ruin it all.**

"It did," mom noted.

"Everything is fine now," Lissa said softly.

"Yeah." I agreed. "He has gone back to being the _god_ again."

Everyone chuckled at Dimitri's exasperated look.

'**Go,' said Eddie, surprising me with a quick hug. 'We'll be in touch through Lissa.' I realized then that I was fighting a losing battle with this group. **

"Glad you saw sense," Christian remarked.

I ignored him.

**It really was time to leave.**

Everyone nodded.

**I hugged Mikhail too, murmuring in his ear, 'Thank you. Thank you so much for your help. I swear, we'll find her. We'll find Sonya.' **

"And you did," Mikhail said happily, smiling at Sonya.

I grinned, happy to have reunited them, even though I didn't have much to do with it.

**He gave me that sad smile of his and didn't reply.**

"You had a permanent sad smile?" Sonya enquired, looking at Mikhail.

He shrugged but his eyes looked haunted, probably remembering the time without Sonya.

I empathized with him. I knew firsthand what it was like to have your lover turn strigoi. I sighed before snuggling closer to Dimitri.

**Adrian was the hardest to leave behind. **

"Thank you for the honor, little dhampir." Adrian said, grinning.

"You are welcome," I replied, smiling back just as goofily.

Two can certainly play the game!

**I could tell it was difficult for him too, no matter how relaxed his grin seemed. He couldn't be happy about me going off with Dimitri.**

"I really wasn't." Adrian admitted, "I was very insecure."

Well, he did have a good reason to be. Despite everything being settled now, I still couldn't help the twinge of guilt whenever I thought of how I had treated Adrian. In my defence, it wasn't everyday that you find out that the one you love, the one for whom you went to the ends of the earth, the one who broke your heart by claiming his love for you had faded, finally admitted that he loved you all long! _God! What a convoluted sentence!_

**Our hug lasted a little bit longer than the others, and he gave me a soft, brief kiss on the lips. I almost felt like crying after how brave he'd been tonight. **

"Wow! I made Rose Hathaway cry." Adrian said stunned.

"Note the almost, Ivashkov." I growled.

"Never pegged you as the type to cry when someone is being brave for your sake, Rose." Eddie said, laughing.

"God! I did _not_ cry." I defended myself, thoroughly exasperated, "I said I felt like it because I was touched."

"What's that say?" Christian asked, looking like he was enjoying himself. "That you are a sof…"

"_Don't _youdare complete that sentence." I threatened Christian, glaring at him.

Mikhail continued reading without giving Christian any time to reply.

**I wished he could go with me but knew he'd be safer here.**

"Always worrying about others," mom sighed. _Was that a compliment?_

I saw Dimitri nod slightly, almost as if replying to my thoughts. I smiled at him brightly. That was enough for him to break, or rather, relax his stoic façade and he smiled back at me.

'**Adrian, thank you for—'**

**He held up his hand. 'It's not goodbye, little dhampir. I'll see you in your dreams.'**

I saw Sydney's eyes widen slightly, almost as if the possibility of us being uninterrupted in the dreams hadn't occurred to her before. I fought the urge to laugh. God knows what those two did in the dreams! I knew what I would do to Dimitri had I been a spirit using moroi with the ability to dream walk. I smirked at the thought.

'**If you stay sober enough.'**

**He winked. 'For you I just might.'**

Lissa and Sydney rolled their eyes while Eddie scoffed.

**A loud booming noise interrupted us, and we saw a flash of light off to my right. People near the other garages screamed.**

'**There, you see?' asked Abe, quite pleased with himself. **

"Of course I was pleased, little girl." Abe said, smugly, "I had opened a new gate just so that my lovely daughter could escape the Court."

"_Of course_, "I echoed sarcastically, "you had every right to be pleased for doing such a noble work, old man."

"Glad you see my point." Abe smirked, unruffled by my sarcasm.

I just rolled my eyes.

'**A new gate. Perfect timing.'**

Abe nodded, grinning. The grin slid off his face when mom elbowed him in the ribs. I snorted, amused. Mom gave me a smile while my lovely dad huffed.

**I gave him a reluctant hug too and was surprised when he didn't pull back right away.**

"Ah, my sweet daughter," Abe said, faking sadness, "how you offend me by thinking I would pull back."

Before I could reply, yes I had a very snarly reply in store for him, Dimitri stroked my cheek and nuzzled my neck, causing me to calm down and forget whatever I was thinking. I glared at him accusingly. He smirked, satisfied that I was distracted. I huffed and faced away from him, even though I was still leaning against him.

**He smiled at me . . . fondly.**

"I can almost hear the dot dot dot," Christian commented lazily.

"That might be because there _are _three precise dots here." Mikhail said dryly.

Abe rolled his eyes, uncharacteristically.

'**Ah, my daughter,' he said. 'Eighteen, and already you've been accused of murder, aided felons, and acquired a death count higher than most guardians will ever see.' He paused. 'I couldn't be prouder.'**

Everyone burst into peals of laughter.

**I rolled my eyes. 'Goodbye, old man. And thanks.' I didn't bother asking him about the 'felons' part. Abe wasn't stupid. **

"Yeah. I realized it _then_," I said dramatically which made everyone laugh and Abe to glare at me.

**After I'd asked him about a prison that had later been breached, he'd probably figured out who was behind Victor Dashkov's escape.**

"It wasn't hard for me to figure out that it was you." Abe said thoughtfully, looking at me. "You have my blood running in your veins after all."

"Technically, it is my own blood running in my veins." I pointed out.

Everyone chuckled softly.

"Where do you think you got your boldness from?" Abe asked, raising his eyebrow.

"By boldness you mean the boldness in breaking out convicts." mom said sarcastically.

"That too," Abe said, grinning at me.

I couldn't help but grin back. We are one messed up father-daughter pair.

**And like that, Dimitri and I were in the car, speeding off toward Abe's 'new gate.' I regretted not being able to say goodbye to Lissa. **

"I wanted to say goodbye too." Lissa said her face small.

**We were never truly apart with the bond, but it couldn't take the place of face-to-face communication. **

Lissa and I nodded.

**Still, it was worth it to know she would be safe and free of any connection to my escape. I hoped.**

"Don't." I warned, seeing Lissa open her mouth to comment on how I shouldn't care about her in that situation.

She closed her mouth and smiled innocently at me, as if she never had any intention of saying that. I snorted, seeing right through her.

**Like always, Dimitri drove, which I still thought was totally unfair. **

That sure hadn't changed. He still drove whenever we went out together. I scowled at him. That made him chuckle and kiss my forehead.

**It had been one thing when I was his student, but now? **

"You thought I hadn't let you drive because you were my student? Dimitri asked, shocked.

"Back at the academy? Yeah." I confessed.

Dimitri sighed, muttering something about 'not wanting to die…' and 'never thought of you as only my student…'

I giggled. He was adorable when he mumbled under his breath.

**Wouldn't he **_**ever **_**give up that wheel? **

NO. I could see it written on his face. One of these days I _will _make him give up the wheel. By hook or crook!

**This didn't seem like the time to discuss it, though—particularly since I didn't plan on us staying together much longer.**

Both Dimitri and Abe narrowed their eyes at me.

**A few people had come out to see where the wall had blown up, but no one official had surfaced yet. Dimitri raced through the gap as impressively as Eddie had when he'd driven through Tarasov Prison's gate, **

"Thank you Rose." Eddie said, grinning.

**only the Civic didn't handle the bumpy, grassy terrain as well as the SUV in Alaska. The problem with making your own exit was that it didn't come with an actual road. Even that was beyond Abe.**

Abe looked thoughtful. I didn't even try to imagine what was going on in that mind of his.

'**Why is our getaway car a Civic?' I asked. 'It's not really great for off roading.'**

"Of all the things…." Christian said, stupefied, "the first question you ask is about the car?"

"Hey, that Civic couldn't handle off roading." I said, looking at Christian with a condensing look, "I was just wondering why he chose a car that wasn't suitable?"

"Yes, why a civic?" Sydney asked Dimitri curiously.

Before Dimitri could answer, I said, "patience Sydney."

She glared at me at me but I knew she wasn't angry.

**Dimitri didn't look at me **

"That was rude, you know." I chastised Dimitri, trying to appear serious.

"I am so sorry," he said seriously but I could see the hint of smile in his face, "please forgive me."

I tapped my forefinger on my chin, acting like I was thinking hard, "We'll see," before Dimitri and I started laughing quietly.

**but continued navigating over the rough ground toward a more drivable area. 'Because Civics are one of the most common cars out there and don't attract attention. And this should be the only off-roading we do. Once we hit a freeway, we're putting as much distance between us and Court as we can—before abandoning the car, of course.'**

"Sensible plan," mom commented.

"Thank you, Janie." Abe said smirking.

I am sure it had been Dimitri's idea but I didn't say anything because I too surprised at seeing mom blushing at Abe's words. _What the hell?_

'**Abandon—' I shook my head, letting it go. We reached a dirt road that felt like the smoothest surface on earth after that jolting start. 'Look, now that we're out of there, I want you to know that I mean it: you don't have to come with me. I appreciate your help in the escape.**

"Are you always this formal with him?" Adrian asked curiously.

I smirked, resting my head on Dimitri's shoulder before replying, "Oh I _definitely_ am not formal with him."

"I don't really want to know how informal," Eddie said, shuddering.

Dimitri looked uncomfortable.

"He asked for it." I said, nodding towards Adrian. Adrian grinned while Sydney sighed.

**Really. But hanging out with me won't do you any favors. They'll be hunting for me more than you. If you take off, you can live somewhere around humans and not be treated like a lab animal. You might even be able to slink back to Court. Tasha would put up a fight for you.'**

A look of pain and betrayal crossed both Christian and Dimitri's face at the thought that Tasha certainly would have put a fight for Dimitri had he gone back to Court. She did have a deep affection for him, affection that made her frame me for murder so that Dimitri would be hers. I took a deep breath. I didn't know if I could ever forgive her.

**Dimitri didn't answer for a long time. It drove me crazy. **

"Not used to being ignored, are you?" Sonya asked, amused.

"No," I confirmed. "Maybe the reasons are mentioned in the book."

**I wasn't the kind of person who handled silence well. It made me want to chatter and fill the void. **

Dimitri looked at me, puzzled. He knew I could handle silence with him. Hell, how many times had we stayed in companionable silence when it was just the two of us. But that silence was different. Being with Dimitri was different. I never felt the need to make meaningless talk with him. With him, I was happy even in silence.

In the situation in the book, we had gone through a really rough time and technically we had broken up. So, that silence had been disturbing to me. I think Dimitri realized that as he looked into my eyes.

**Plus, the longer I sat there, the more it hit me that **_**I was alone with Dimitri**_**. **

"Duh," Christian said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't tell me you didn't keep thinking that you were alone with Lissa when you guys were practicing fighting after your breakup." I retorted.

Christian didn't have an answer for that. Take that, Sparky!

**Like, really and truly alone for the first time since he'd become a dhampir. **

"It struck me too." Dimitri whispered to me, "That's why I had been so quiet in the beginning when you asked about the Civic."

I smiled widely at him.

**I felt like a fool, **

"Tell us something new." Christian said, smirking.

Eddie and Adrian snickered earning death glares from me. They quickly stopped laughing. _Yeah, I am totally badass!_

**but in spite of the dangers we still risked . . . well, I was still overwhelmed by him. **

"I was too," Dimitri said, looking at me, "I actually had to keep reminding myself to concentrate on escaping and not you."

"Aww" Lissa cooed. I smacked my forehead_. She was such a romantic!_

**There was something so powerful about his presence.**

Dimitri smiled. Everyone else looked like they agreed with me. I knew his mere presence put some people on the edge. He was the badass god Guardian Belikov after all.

**Even when he made me angry, I still found him attractive.**

"Good to know," Dimitri whispered huskily.

"As if you didn't know." I scoffed.

He shrugged before smiling, "it's nice to hear it."

I smacked his arm lightly.

**Maybe the adrenaline pounding through me was addling my brain.**

Everyone burst out laughing at that**. **

"Great explanation," Eddie choked. I rolled my eyes.

Mikhail continued reading after everyone recovered their breath. Well almost everyone….Christian and Adrian were still laughing.

We ignored them and focused on Mikhail as he continued reading.

**Whatever it was, I was consumed by more than just his physical aspects—though they were certainly distracting. **

Dimitri was still smiling, taking it all in so that he could tease me later. For a stoic guardian he was certainly mischievous.

**The hair, the face, his closeness to me, his scent . . . I felt it all, and it made my blood burn.**

Sydney, Lissa and Sonya smiled widely at me. Dimitri was grinning. God, kill me now! It was so embarrassing to have these thoughts of mine read out loud! I turned to bury my face in Dimitri's chest out of sheer embarrassment. I am not at all a shy person but this was _too_ much!

**But the inner Dimitri—the Dimitri who'd just led a small army through a prison break—captivated me just as much. **

I could feel Dimitri shaking with suppressed chuckles. I groaned on hearing Lissa murmur, "it's so romantic."

"Did you hear? We apparently were a small army!" Adrian exclaimed.

I could hear laughter but didn't turn around to face them, instead plucking stray threads on Dimitri's sweater.

**It took me a moment to realize why this was so powerful: I was seeing the old Dimitri again, the one I'd worried was gone forever. He wasn't. He was back.**

"That makes him sound like some super hero," Adrian said, "you know, like the spider man returns."

"Or The Mummy Returns," Christian said.

We all started laughing at that comment but mom laughed the hardest. Guffawed actually! That made us laugh even more. I practically had tears rolling down my cheeks.

Once calm, Mikhail picked up the book again.

**At long last, Dimitri replied, 'I'm not leaving you. None of your Rose-logic arguments are going to work. **

"Not going to work on you." Lissa corrected Dimitri, sighing, "she always manages to convince me."

It was true that in the academy my _Rose logic_, as he called it, hadn't worked on him. But now….. There were times when I did manage to convince him.

**And if you try to get away from me, I'll just find you.'**

**I didn't doubt he could, which just made the situation more confusing. 'But why? I don't want you with me.'**

"Liar" everyone chorused. Everyone except mom, Dimitri, Abe, Sonya and Mikhail.

"Who were you trying to fool kizim?" Abe asked, "You or him?"

"I don't know." I said softly.

Dimitri smiled sadly.

**I still felt a lingering attraction for him**

Everyone, including me and excluding Dimitri scoffed at that statement.

**yes, but that didn't change the fact that he had hurt me in breaking things off between us. **

Dimitri sighed painfully, regretting that he had acted that way. I squeezed his hands, reminding him that I didn't blame him for all that.

**He had rejected me, **

A look of pain flashed across Dimitri's face. I hated seeing him so hurt! True, he _had_ rejected me but I understood. He had been an emotional wreck back then and totally confused. It was only during the run that he managed to rediscover himself. And when he did, he rediscovered his love for me.

"We are together now," I reminded him, whispering in his ear before kissing his cheek.

He smiled slightly, hugging me closer.

**and I needed to harden my heart, particularly if I wanted to move on with Adrian. **

"You can never turn away from your true love," Adrian said softly, eyes trained on Sydney's, "no matter how much you try to."

I thoroughly agreed with him.

**Clearing my name and leading a normal life seemed far away right now, but if it happened, I wanted to be able to return to Adrian with open arms.**

I rubbed Dimitri's arm soothingly. Hearing all this must be hard for him.

Dimitri shook his head as if to shake away that statement and breathed out.

"I was meant for _you_," I whispered and was pleased to see him smile.

'**It doesn't matter what you want,' he said. 'Or what I want.' Ouch. **

"Sorry," Dimitri breathed, "that previous comment of yours had hurt me. So, I replied that way."

"No probs," I said quietly.

'**Lissa asked me to protect you.'**

"You would have protected her even if I hadn't asked you to." Lissa said to Dimitri, eyes sparkling.

Dimitri nodded but said, "I couldn't tell her that."

I scowled at him. Had he admitted it, it would have made it a lot easier for me to sort through my feelings. Or not! It probably would have confused me more.

'**Hey, I don't need anyone to—'**

"Protect you," Eddie finished, "we know."

I grinned at him.

'**And,' he continued, 'I meant what I said to her. I swore I'd serve her and help her for the rest of my life, anything she asks. If she wants me to be your bodyguard, then that's what I'll be.' **

"Psssh. Like you didn't want to do it yourself," Lissa said, amused.

Dimitri didn't reply, just smiled at her knowingly.

**He gave me a dangerous look. 'There's no way you're getting rid of me anytime soon.'**

"We can see that," mom said dryly, referring to us wrapped in each other's arms.

I was too tired to reply. I really was exhausted from duty. Noticing my state, Dimitri asked, "how about continuing tomorrow?"

Everyone quickly murmured their assent and we left the room, not before Eddie shouted at us to not be late for picking up Jill from the airport tomorrow.

**AN: **** So Jill is set to arrive in the next chapter…..it's about time she joined in on the reading!**

**Bdw, was the last chapter not good? I got only three reviews **

**Anyways, how was this chapter? Please, Please Review and let me know **


	8. Arrival of Princess Dragomir

**Hey! **

**You guys are the best! I loved the reviews….so very encouraging! Thanks a lot! Also thanks to my friend jgdnam for some ideas used in this chapter! **

**Jill has arrived! **

**Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own Vampire academy, no matter how many times I wish I owned Rose and Dimitri!**

The next day morning (human night) found us in the airport, waiting for Jill's flight to arrive from Oregon.

Emily had apparently made Jill promise that she would take some time off to attend one of her cousin's marriage but Jill had had no intentions of going. But, after a lot of persuasion from Lissa, Jill finally decided to put her duties aside to attend the marriage in Oregon.

Lissa, Adrian, Sydney, Christian, Sonya, and I stood at the terminal with Eddie standing several steps in front of us. Just as I was debating on whether or not I should buy myself a doughnut, it was announced that Jill's flight would be landing in five minutes. On hearing the announcement, Eddie straightened up. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at his behavior! Typical knight, Sir Eddie Castile!

Soon enough, we spotted Jill walking towards us. Her walk was graceful, retaining none of the awkwardness she had possessed years ago. It was the walk of a highly successful model. Yeah, she was a model! Even though she modeled only when her duties at the Court permitted, Jill had managed to make a big name in the industry. The humans loved her tall willowy moroi body. Her protection also was not a problem since her guardians posed as her bodyguards, hence not appearing suspicious.

Anyway, Jill rushed to Eddie and engulfed him in a giant hug. Spotting us over his shoulder, she let out a cry of joy before hurtling into Adrian's waiting arms. After the joyful reunion between the bond mates, Jill greeted Sydney. I knew that Adrian and Sydney were closest to her, almost like and elder brother and sister. Her own sister was waiting for her in the back of the group. But I knew Lissa didn't mind Jill greeting Adrian before her. Even though they had grown closer in the two years, they weren't yet as close as two sisters. But they were happy with the progress in their relationship. Lissa never forgot her duty towards Jill and strived to make her feel welcome on all occasions. Jill confided in Lissa a lot more and actually took advice from her, happy to have an elder sister. But the fact remained that Jill saw Adrian as an elder brother and Lissa saw me as her sister and these bonds could never be broken….perhaps that is why they hadn't yet overcome all inhibitions.

I was brought out of my musings when Jill bounded over to me and threw her arms around me, greeting me happily. I hugged her back, laughing at her enthusiasm. We had always gotten along well. Add to the fact that she was currently shadow kissed and I was formerly shadow kissed….well let's just say it's a good thing that the palace pays our phone bills….mine because I am one of the royal guard and Jill's because she is the Dragomir princess.

Anyway, after a lot of hugging around joyful greeting, we made our way to the SUVs where Dimitri and Mikhail were waiting with the royal guard. Jill greeted them affectionately too, though at times, she couldn't seem to believe that the legendary Dimitri Belikov was actually part of the group in which she too was involved.

We all piled into the SUV, chatting merrily. Mikhail was driving with Sonya riding shotgun. There were three rows of three seats behind the driver. Eddie, Jill and Adrian sat in the first row behind Mikhail and Sonya. Dimitri, Sydney and I sat in the second row with Lissa and Christian in the back. All the other guardians rode in other SUV, trailing behind ours.

Jill chattered on happily about her cousin's wedding. Soon, everyone started on the topic of weddings in general. Sonya and Mikhail were reminiscing about their wedding, Adrian and Sydney were making plans for their wedding and Lissa was enlightening us about her idea of an ideal wedding. Christian looked nervous as he listened to Lissa. Eddie was watching Jill adoringly as she spoke. Dimitri was telling Lissa about Russian weddings and Lissa was absorbing every detail. _What for?_

I got the answer soon. When Jill expressed her desire to witness a Russian style wedding, Lissa remarked, "You will have to wait for Rose and Dimitri's marriage for that, Jill."

_That was why she was listening so keenly! To plan my wedding!_

I met Dimitri's eyes which were shining. They reflected nervousness, excitement, love and happiness. I smiled at him and winked before turning to stare out of the window. Why was he nervous? Actually, if truth be told, I had been expecting Dimitri to propose when I turned twenty….but now my twenty-first birthday was approaching and yet he hadn't mentioned our marriage. Not that I was nervous of him changing his mind or something. I knew he loved me. And it wasn't as if I was dying to get married to him. Marriage wouldn't change anything between us, except make our relationship official. We would probably move to one of the family suites in the palace housing. That was all. But still…..I wanted to be Mrs. Belikova. _All in a good time_! I wasn't in any sort of hurry.

We soon arrived in a fancy Moroi restaurant for breakfast (humans did visit but mostly it was the moroi). Everyone's eyes turned towards our group as we seated ourselves around a huge table. I could understand why they were staring. For outsiders, we appeared as an odd bunch. The Queen, her boyfriend Lord Ozera, the famous badass guardians- Guardian Hathaway and Guardian Belikov, Princess Dragomir, her guardian, a pretty moroi with red hair Crazy Karp, her guardian and husband Guardian Tanner, the infamous Lord Ivashkov and a HUMAN, not to mention the royal guard. Five moroi, four guardians actually sitting down to eat with them and a human who looked at ease in our presence. _Whatever_! We ignored the stares.

Lissa pressed her guardians to sit down in an adjacent table saying that the place was guarded enough and we didn't need them standing around us, watching us eat. It was true that the place was well guarded with several guardians standing guard. Finally, the royal guard agreed to sit down in the nearby table but wouldn't eat anything. They were on duty while Mikhail, Eddie, Dimitri and I were off duty.

We had a really good time, eating and laughing together. It was fun! It was nice having everyone I love in one place, except for the parents who had remained back at the Court.

As we were leaving the restaurant, I realized that I had left my mobile on the table and hurried inside to get it. When I rejoined the group, I found myself at the back, with Eddie and Jill.

Just as I was chatting with them, I saw Dimitri and Sonya walking in front of us, talking about something in a low voice. I sped up slightly to join them. When I was close enough I heard Sonya ask "so when are you planning to do it?" I saw Dimitri run a hand through his hair and sighing before replying "I don't know. Viktoria just gave it to me yesterday. She told me that my grandmother was insistent that I accept it now. She says that the time is right and that I shouldn't wait for a few more months. Maybe I'll arrange it after we complete reading the book..."

_What on earth were they talking about? _I feel into step beside them and asked Dimitri, "what were you guys talking about?"

On seeing me, Dimitri's cheeks turned slightly red and he wouldn't meet my gaze. What was making him shy like this? I must have sported a totally confused look because Sonya laughed merrily and opened her mouth to say something.

But I didn't hear what she said. My guardian reflexes had picked up a weird noise, alerting me to someone else's presence near us. I met Dimitri's eyes and saw that he had felt it too. So had the royal guards. We carefully scanned the area. Suddenly, Jill shouted, "strigoi!" just as twelve odd strigoi appeared.

Without missing a beat, three royal guards, Dimitri, Eddie and I formed an outer loose circle around the moroi, on the offensive while the other four royal guards and Mikhail went on the defensive and formed a tighter circle around the moroi, just outside a ring of fire that Christian maintained around the moroi and Sydney. Sydney had several articles in her hand which I knew were her witch-things which would also help in defense.

Sparing just one thought for Lissa, Dimitri and the others, I jumped into the fight, going for a strigoi that was directly in front of me. I could tell he had been a human before being turned since he wasn't a good fighter. I finished him off quickly before going for another one. As the fight continued, I found myself back to back with Dimitri, fighting the strigoi together in perfectly synchronized moves. After all, I had done this thing with him many times and knew his moves well just as he knew mine. We were a superb team even if I say so myself.

We were two against one with strigoi, every guardian for two strigoi. Two strigoi managed to penetrate the offensive circle and met the defensive guardians. Since it was only two, they were finished off quickly. The offensive guardians always take the brunt of the attack.

Dimitri and I finished off two strigoi simultaneously and I looked around quickly. Jeff, one of the royal guards had a head wound that was bleeding heavily but he kept on fighting. Ray and Vasily, the other two royal guards on the offensive were injured as well but not seriously. They were fighting two strigoi in double team like Dimitri and I. I saw Eddie fighting two strigoi together and looked as if he needed help.

Just as I was about to run to his aid, a female strigoi intercepted me. We exchanged punches and kicks and I soon realized that she was a tough one. I went for the shoulder jab which she avoided and aimed a punch at my stomach. I blocked her quickly, razing the stake against her cheek in the process. She hissed in pain and I took advantage, aiming a perfect roundhouse kick at her chest. She had been distracted by the stake and hence failed to block my kick. She feel to the ground and I was upon her in a second, pinning her to the ground as I raised my stake to kill her. In a last ditch attempt to distract me, she hissed "Rose Hathaway."

I was stunned_. How did she know my name?_

She tried to capitalize on my stunned state but I didn't allow her. Dimitri's first lesson was echoing in my mind…"_don't hesitate"_

I didn't. Even when curiosity was eating away at me, I drove my stake through her chest. I didn't have time for interrogation. The other guardians needed help. I jumped up and ran to Dimitri who was helping Eddie. Together, the three of us finished off two strigoi.

I saw the Jeff, Ray and Vasily had finished off the remaining ones. Jeff was severely wounded and was being supported by Ray. I swept my eyes over the Moroi and Sydney. They were all fine.

My eyes quickly turned to Dimitri, making sure that he was safe even though I fought beside him for the majority of the fight. He was okay, just a few scratches. One was particularly deep, near his temple. Before I could go up to him and assess the wound, Lissa came running to me and engulfed me in a strong hug. I chuckled and patted her back. She was always like this! Being the Queen, she was the prime target of the strigoi and we were often attacked when we were out of the wards. Each time, she would fear for my life and each time I would have to reassure her that I was fine. _Ah, my best friend! _

I looked at Dimitri over Lissa's shoulder. He was talking to one the guardians and looked fine. I smiled when his eyes met mine and he gave me a relieved smile in return.

Two vans of guardians arrived to escort us back to the court. I had to fight to stay awake on the ride back to the Court. I _couldn't_ relax until we were safely inside the wards even though I knew everyone was safe and that we had extra backup in case something went wrong.

When we reached the court, we all rushed to the infirmary immediately. Jeff was taken to the ICU. The rest of us had our wounds checked and we were given pain killers.

Lissa was standing nearby, wringing her hands in dismay because she couldn't heal our wounds. She wasn't taking medication or anything but had to refrain from using spirit too much, now that I could no longer pull the darkness away from her. And healing all of us would require quite an amount of spirit. She couldn't selectively heal just her friends, which would be unfair.

I reassured her that all of us were fine and Jeff would be up and about in no time. Then, Dimitri and I escorted Lissa and Christian to their suites before walking to my suite, hand in hand.

Once back in my room, I kicked off my shoes, removed my coat and threw it on the floor before collapsing on my bed without cleaning up or changing. Dimitri followed me, locking the front room and switching off the lights as he made his way to the room. He kept my shoes in their place and removed my coat off the floor before half carrying me to the bathroom. He knew I was exhausted and I could see he was too. But he was brushing his exhaustion aside to help me get ready for bed. _Have I mentioned that he is so sweet and wonderful? _

Smiling at his thoughtfulness, I shook off my fatigue slightly and helped him too.

He pulled the comforter on us both before wrapping his arms around me, making me feel protected and safe.

_How did I get so lucky _was my last thought before sleep lulled me into the peaceful darkness.

**AN: So how was the chapter? Jill's much anticipated arrival? The strigoi attack?**

**This will probably be my last update in a while….not a big gap but I will take more time than usual….you see, College work is driving me crazy….my semester is about to end…We have two semesters per year and the end of my of my 2****nd**** sem is approaching….so lots of exams in future **

**Anyway, Can you guys guess what Dimitri and Sonya were talking about? The hint is in this chapter itself….read carefully! ;)**

**Review and let me know your guesses! **


	9. Reading chapter five- 1st part

**Heyya! Sorry for the wait but I was damn busy! **

**A big thanks to all my reviewers, especially jpitt for the first review, Goode-lover, Piesandstuff, Amanda, bboop12, Ozera's buffy, UmikaWaves, thunder and molnija, Ilovevampiresangels, YourVampireGirl98, miktokki, Angel753146 and several others for reviewing and sticking with me!**

**Anyway, here is chapter five-first part….Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own vampire academy**

**RPOV**

I looked away from the arguing moroi and quickly scanned the room even though I had glanced around for threats just a minute ago. I was on duty in one of the grander halls of the Court where the moroi council session was in progress. My eyes met Lissa's for a brief instant. She looked every bit of a queen, sitting back in her chair regally and listening politely to Prince Taurus as he complained about some unruly behavior of the lower class moroi. But I could tell that all this arguing was getting to her. She had to deal with this sort of crap every day but she managed to appear perfectly unruffled, never letting anyone see the frustration that I knew she was feeling. Soon, the session ended and I walked quickly towards Lissa, following her out of the hall. She headed straight to the palace housing. Not the one attached to the palace offices but her personal one situated at the back of the court grounds. It had been built for relaxation of the queens so that they weren't troubled by the ruckus of the Court. But now, it was our house, well palace. Christian, Dimitri, Jill and I stayed there with Lissa. It was quiet there with no houses nearby. That part of the Court was meant for the Queen alone. Not even the high ranking lords were allowed without the permission of the queen. The trees around the palace gave a feeling of solitude and the large lake in the backyards was a great source of relaxation. The Royal guardian housing and the servants' quarters were situated away from the palace but still close enough to be present when needed. It was perfect.

I saw Lissa smile slightly as the palace same into view. With a mischievous look in her eyes, Lissa turned to me and said, "you know what I need, Rose? Right now, to relax?"

"What?" I asked warily.

"Promise me you won't say no," she said, looking at me with large puppy dog eyes.

I sighed, "Okay, I won't say no,"

_I had a feeling I was going to regret this._

"I need…" she took a deep breath and grinned, "to continue reading Last Sacrifice"

I groaned. _Not that! I am not up to any sort of reading right now, let alone the story of my life._

Lissa laughed at my grumpy face and dragged me inside before flopping down on the comfy couch in the living area and pulling out her mobile to call our friends and my parents. Jill, who came downstairs to greet us, was also invited by a bouncing Lissa. Really, how could I grudge her something that made her this excited? So I resigned myself to continue reading the damn book without fuss.

Soon everyone arrived and settled down comfortably in the living area. I furrowed myself into Dimitri's arms, resting my head on his shoulder as Abe picked up the book to read.

"Chapter five," Abe read.

**G****ETTING AWAY FROM DIMITRI WASN'T just about our rocky romantic past.**

"Rocky romantic past," Dimitri echoed softly, and then chuckled, "how true."

"Mmhmm…"I agreed.

**I'd meant it when I said I didn't want him getting in trouble because of me. **

"Always worrying about him," Adrian sighed.

That hurt. I worried about them all.

"Him _and_ Lissa." Christian corrected.

"True," Adrian agreed.

Before I could reply, Lissa said, "Actually, it's not true. She worries about all those she loves."

"Yeah, she does." Eddie agreed, "But you and Dimitri top the list."

Everyone nodded but I scowled, "stop talking as if I am not here."

"You can't deny it." Adrian warned.

"I am not trying to," I said softly.

I really was not. Dimitri and Lissa did top my list. I just didn't like everyone talking about it like I didn't care for anyone else but those two.

"There is nothing wrong with that." Sydney defended me, "Everyone has someone there care about more than anyone. You have two people."

Jill nodded, agreeing with Sydney. I smiled at them.

Abe continued reading.

**If the guardians found me, my fate wouldn't be that much different from what I'd already been facing.**

Mikhail and mom nodded.

**But Dimitri? He'd been making baby steps **

"Are you talking about Dimitri?" Eddie asked, looking stunned.

"Dimitri and _baby steps_?" Christian snickered.

Dimitri smiled slightly. Everyone else was looking amused.

I exhaled, feeling frustrated. "Just continue the damn sentence, Abe."

Abe obliged.

**toward acceptance. **

"Makes sense now?" I asked.

Eddie nodded but Christian and Adrian were still snickering quietly. I glared at them but they didn't notice.

**Sure, that was pretty much destroyed now, but his chance for a life wasn't over. If he didn't want to live at Court or with humans, he could go back to Siberia and return to his family. Out there in the middle of nowhere, he'd be hard to find.**

"I can't believe you are worried about Dimitri in that situation," mom said, surprised, "you should have been worrying about yourself, being on run from the guardians. No offence, Dimitri," Mom added looking at Dimitri.

"None taken, Janine." Dimitri said politely, "I always tell her that."

I rolled my eyes.

**And with how close that community was, they'd go to a lot of trouble to hide him if someone ever did try to hunt him down.**

"They would," Dimitri confirmed, eyes reflecting happiness.

**Staying with me was definitely the wrong option. I just needed to convince him.**

"I can see how much you loved him." Jill said, eyes sparkling.

"Love him." I corrected her quietly.

Only Dimitri heard me. He shot me a beautiful smile. I smiled back automatically.

'**I know what you're thinking,' Dimitri said, after we'd been on the road for about an hour. We hadn't spoken much, **

"Hold up," Christian interrupted, "Rose didn't speak for an hour?"

"Unbelievable." Eddie said, shaking his head in mock-astonishment.

"Didn't know you could stay quiet for that long, little dhampir." Adrian said, laughing.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, "I can stay silent."

Everyone looked at me skeptically.

"When necessary." I added quietly.

Everyone chucked.

**both of us lost in our own thoughts. After a few more country roads, we'd finally made it to an interstate and were making good time toward . . . well, I had no idea.**

Christian, Adrian and Eddie laughed at that.

"Good one," Adrian chuckled, "we were making good time toward….ummm… _no idea_!"

Christian and Eddie laughed harder and everyone else was smiling.

I narrowed my eyes at them all before gesturing for Abe to continue.

**I'd been staring out the window, pondering all the disasters around me and how I alone could fix them.**

"Vain much?" Christian asked snarkily.

"Very much," I replied, just as snarkily.

'**Huh?' I glanced over at him.**

**I thought there might be the smallest hint of a smile on his lips, which seemed absurd **

Dimitri raised his eyebrow at me. I looked towards Abe in reply.

**considering this was probably the worst situation he'd been in since being restored from his Strigoi state.**

"Not really," Dimitri said quietly so that only I could hear him. "Being out in the open was a great feeling."

"Oh yeah." I said sarcastically, "how could I forget? Being on run from law is a _great_ feeling."

"It's not that, Roza." Dimitri explained patiently, "I was away from all the drama of the court."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. In the court he had an escort, his own guardians who stayed with him always. He had had no freedom.

"And," Dimitri continued, pulling me out of my musings, "I was with you. No matter how things were between us I found peace with you. I always have."

I smiled softly, remembering that he had first admitted to finding peace with me when we had been ensnared by Victor's lust charm. I gave him a small kiss. Just then, we heard a throat clearing. It was then that we realized that everyone was looking at us. We had been so wrapped up in each other that we hadn't noticed that Abe had stopped reading. But I was sure that all they heard were whispers.

Dimitri's cheeks reddened slightly before he murmured an apology to others. He was always so polite. Really, we didn't need to apologize.

"What?" I snapped at others, "Why did you stop reading?"

Dimitri gripped my hand in warning.

Everyone shook their heads and turned back to Abe as he started reading.

'**And it won't work,' he added. 'You're planning how to get away from me, probably when we eventually stop for gas. You're thinking maybe you'll have a chance to run off then.'**

"How did you know what she was thinking?" Jill asked Dimitri curiously.

Dimitri shrugged, "I have always been able to tell what goes on in her mind."

Jill looked impressed. Hell even Eddie, mom and Abe looked impressed. I grinned at them.

**The crazy thing was, I **_**had **_**been thinking very much along those lines. **

Jill looked at us, wide-eyed. Even though she and Eddie were together, they weren't head over heels in love with the other. But they were getting there. So, it was shocking for her that a person could know another that well. I smiled slightly then happened to look at Lissa. She was beaming. Crazy romance loving queen!

**The old Dimitri **

"Old Dimitri?" Christian asked, amused, "there is a newer version of Dimitri then?"

"Like Dimitri 10.0. All new upgraded version," Eddie snickered.

"Dimitri 10. previous problems have been fixed. With the same look but a new mind, we are proud to present our product to the market." Adrian announced. "With deadly skills, Dimitri 10.0 is guaranteed to guard you efficiently against blood sucking monsters."

"Don't miss the opportunity to own such a good guardian." Eddie continued, "Discount given to first 10 customers."

"Hurry to the nearest store." Christian finished, "Offer valid for 15 days after the launch."

By the end, everyone was in hysterics. Even Dimitri. Christian, Adrian and Eddie made a huge show of bowing. Once everyone calmed down, Abe continued.

**was a good partner on the road, but I wasn't so sure I liked having his old ability to guess my thoughts back as well.**

"What?" I asked everyone who were looking at me. "It was annoying"

Dimitri looked amused.

'**This is a waste of time,' I said, gesturing around the car.**

'**Oh? You have better things to do than flee the people who want to lock you up and execute you? **

"He has a point there, little dhampir" Adrian admitted.

"I know." I grumbled.

**Please don't tell me again that this is too dangerous for me.'**

"Won't tell you then," I told Dimitri cheekily.

He sighed, exasperated.

**I glared. 'It's about more than just you.**

Everyone looked curious.

**Running away shouldn't be my only concern. I should be helping clear my name, not hiding in whatever remote place you're undoubtedly taking me to. The answers are at Court.'**

"And how do you propose to look for answers when you are locked up?" Abe asked, patronizingly.

I glared at him, not answering his question.

'**And you have lots of friends at Court who will be working on that. It'll be easier on them if they know you're safe.'**

"He is right." Abe said, looking proud that his sorta son-in-law had enough sense.

I smiled. Despite everything, Abe and Dimitri had gotten along very well after first few occasions. They even respected each other. Dimitri realized that Abe wasn't some cruel mobster but someone who actually cared. And Abe…well he had threatened Dimitri at first but soon realized that Dimitri loved me as much as I loved him. He would never admit it, but I knew that Abe was happy for us.

'**What I want to know is why no one told me about this—or, I mean, why Lissa didn't.**

"Lissa couldn't, even if she wanted to." Lissa said sadly.

"Well, she didn't want to." I replied, harsher than I intended to.

Lissa shook her head, "No, Rose. I wanted to. But they wouldn't let me," she said, gesturing to Abe and Dimitri.

I glared at the Abe and Dimitri, both of who remained unfazed. In fact, both looked amused. I shifted my glare to the opposite wall, moving slightly so that I no longer touched Dimitri. He sighed, figuring that I was angry.

**Why'd she hide it? Don't you think I'd have been more helpful if I'd been ready?'**

"You wouldn't have been," Abe said dismissively.

I grumbled under my breath.

'**We did the fighting, not you,' Dimitri said. 'We were afraid if you knew, you might give away that something was up.'**

Dimitri scooted closer to me on the couch so that his shoulders could brush mine.

I turned away to hide my smile. _This was amusing!_

'**I would have never told!'**

'**Not intentionally, no. But if you were tense or anxious . . . well, your guards can pick up on those kinds of things.'**

All the guardians in the room nodded in agreement**.**

'**Well, now that we're out, can you tell me where we're going? Was I right? Is it some crazy, remote place?'**

**No answer.**

"Bet you hated that," Lissa said fondly.

"Ah! You know me so well, Liss" I said grinning goofily. The grin was also due the fact that Dimitri quietly put his arm around me, pulling me a bit closer when I didn't pull away.

**I narrowed my eyes at him. 'I hate not being in the loop.'**

"Don't we know," Dimitri and Sydney muttered simultaneously while Lissa nodded in agreement.

I smirked. At some point of time, all three of them had to deal with my frustration at not being in the loop.

**That tiny smile on his lips grew a little bigger. **

Dimitri smiled now on hearing that. I smiled at his smile. And everyone smiled at our smiles. _Wow! Sounds majorly weird!_

'**Well, I have my own personal theory that the more you don't know, the more your curiosity is likely to make sure you stick around with me.'**

"Reasonable." Christian said thoughtfully.

Eddie nodded.

"Good theory, son." Abe praised Dimitri.

Dimitri smiled at them all. I rolled my eyes, unable to keep a small smile off my face.

'**That's ridiculous,' I replied, though really, it wasn't all that unreasonable of a theory. **

Dimitri smirked at me and opened his mouth to say something. I beat him to the punch.

"_Don't_," I warned in a low tone, "or I'll just get up and sit on the spare recliner."

Dimitri rolled his eyes but he didn't say a word. I turned back to Abe.

**I sighed. 'When the hell did things get so out of control? When did you guys start being the masterminds? I'm the one who comes up with the wacky, impossible plans. I'm supposed to be the general here. Now I'm barely a lieutenant.'**

"Is someone jealous?" Adrian teased.

"Were you, miss I'm –supposed-to-be-the-general?" Eddie asked teasingly.

Everyone else chuckled.

"I hate being left out," I defended.

"We know, Roza" Dimitri said, pulling me further into his arms.

I sighed, contended, all previous annoyance fading in an instant.

**He started to say something else but then froze for a few seconds, his face instantly taking on that wary, lethal guardian look. **

"Do you really notice all his looks?" mom questioned, exasperated.

"Hey! It's not like I choose to!" I said, miffed. Really, I don't choose to note his expressions. It just comes naturally.

"They are that attuned to each other that they pick each other's expressions easily," Lissa said to mom, having had enough experience of mine and Dimitri's silent conversations.

Both Dimitri and I laughed, remembering the time when Lissa had accused us of having a two way bond because of which we could converse with each other without having to say the words out loud, which led to her frustration in her inability to perceive what we were speaking.

It wasn't our fault that we could read each other that well that no words were needed.

**He swore in Russian.**

And he still refused to teach me to swear in Russian.

'**What's wrong?' I asked. His attitude was contagious, and I immediately forgot all thoughts of crazy plans.**

"Good," Dimitri, mom and Lissa said in unison.

I rolled my eyes.

**In the erratic flash of headlights from oncoming traffic, I could see his eyes dart up to the rearview mirror. 'We have a tail.**

"You had a tail that early?" Abe asked astonished.

Dimitri and I nodded.

**I didn't think it would happen this soon.'**

"Nor did I," Abe muttered under his breath.

'**Are you sure?' It had grown dark, and the number of cars on the highway had increased. I didn't know how anyone could spot one suspicious car among that many, but **

"He is _Dimitri._ He will spot it." Christian praised his guardian.

Abe laughed suddenly. We all looked at him questioningly.

He read-

**well . . . he was Dimitri.**

Christian and I groaned in unison and everyone laughed. I stuck my tongue out at them before glaring at Christian. He glared back at me. Lissa waved her hand in front of Christian's eyes, causing us to stop our glaring match. Lissa sighed tiredly. Everyone chuckled. Glad we were entertaining them!

**He swore again and suddenly, in a maneuver that made me grab the dashboard, he cut sharply across two lanes, barely missing a minivan that expressed its annoyance with a lot of honking.**

All the guys leaned forward, interested as if it were grand theft auto and not my life.

**There was an exit right there, and he just barely made it without clipping the exit ramp's rail. I heard more honking, and when I looked back, I saw the headlights of a car that had made just as crazy a move to follow us onto the exit.**

"I would have loved to see that," Eddie whistled.

Christian, Adrian and Mikhail nodded and even Abe looked impressed.

I rolled my eyes at their behavior while Dimitri chuckled softly.

'**The Court must have gotten the word out pretty fast,' he said. 'They had someone watching the interstates.'**

'**Maybe we should have taken back roads.'**

"That would have slowed you down, little girl," Abe said loftily.

I glared at him but didn't reply.

**He shook his head. 'Too slow. **

"I can see that he is the one with brains in your relationship," Abe chuckled.

"That's where you are wrong, old man," I replied, smugly. "You know that I've inherited my brains from either you or mom. So by implying that I am dumb, you actually mean to say that either you or mom is dumb. Pick, it's your choice."

Everyone was suppressing their laughter. Abe was in a fix. He couldn't say that mom was the dumb one, she would kick him. Nor would he admit that he is the dumb one. So, he was forced to admit that I am not dumb.

I grinned victoriously at the look on his face.

Dimitri and mom were shaking their heads but were smiling. The others however had to control their laughter.

Abe recovered quickly, smirked as though nothing happened and continued reading (_that's Abe for you_)

**None of it would have been an issue once we switched cars, but they found us too soon. We'll have to get a new one here. This is the biggest city we'll hit before the Maryland border.'**

**A sign said we were in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and as Dimitri skillfully drove us down a busy, commerce-filled road, I could see the tail mirroring everything we did.**

'**What exactly is your plan to get a new car?' I asked warily.**

"Hotwiring," Christian stated in a duh tone.

I ignored him.

'**Listen carefully,' he said, ignoring my question. 'It is very, **_**very **_**important that you do exactly as I say. No improvising. No arguing. **

"Bet you weren't happy about that," Lissa said.

"I wasn't." I confirmed.

**There are guardians in that car, and by now, they've alerted every other guardian around here—possibly even the human police.'**

'**Wouldn't the police catching us create a few problems?'**

"The alchemists will intervene," Sydney stated.

She was no longer one though, having opted to quit rather than be tied down by false ideals of Alchemists.

'**The Alchemists would sort it out and make sure we ended up back with the Moroi.'**

**The Alchemists. I should have known they'd get involved. **

"You should have," mom said.

Sydney nodded, smiling slightly.

I sighed.

**They were a secret society of humans who helped protect Moroi and dhampir interests, keeping us out of the mainstream human public. Of course, the Alchemists didn't do it out of kindness. **

"Kindness to moroi is scandalous in the alchemist world," Sydney explained, "if you are caught helping moroi, you are sent to reeducation centers."

She shuddered slightly while mention the reeducation centers. Must be a horrible place or something. I really am thankful that Sydney didn't land in one for helping me escape the Court.

**They thought we were evil and unnatural and mostly wanted to make sure we stayed on the fringes of their society.**

I remembered the time in Russia, in the train from St. Petersburg to Omsk, Sydney couldn't sleep in the right because I was in the same room as her. Now here she was, sitting with an unnatural creature's arms around her. So ironic!

**An escaped 'criminal' like me would certainly be a problem they would want to help the Moroi with.**

Sydney and Abe nodded.

**Dimitri's voice was hard and commanding when he spoke again, **

The voice of a leader who is guaranteed to succeed.

**though his eyes weren't on me. They were busy scanning the sides of the road. 'No matter what you think of the choices everyone's been making for you, no matter how unhappy you are with this situation, **

"She was grumpy, not simply unhappy," Adrian corrected, jokingly.

Everyone smiled or laughed.

I glared at Adrian. _I'll show him grumpy!_

**you know—I know you do—that I've never failed you when our lives were at stake. You trusted me in the past.**

"I think she still trusted you," Sonya told Dimitri, "I believe she always will, no matter how things are between you."

I smiled at Sonya before looking at Dimitri seriously. Sonya was right. He should have known that I trusted him. I don't know what he saw in my eyes but whatever it was, it made him smile softly.

**Trust me now.'**

**I wanted to tell him that what he said wasn't entirely true. He **_**had **_**failed me.**

Dimitri raised an eyebrow at me but I could see a small amount of hurt in his eyes. I smiled at him sadly, not able to deny my previous thought. But I hated that something I had thought hurt him.

**When he'd been taken down by Strigoi, when he'd shown that he wasn't perfect, he had failed me by shattering the impossible, godly image I had of him.**

Dimitri looked exasperated despite the grim topic. I chuckled at his expression. He fought a smile but I could see amusement had replaced the initial hurt. I kissed his cheek quickly.

**But my life? No, he had always kept mine safe. **

Dimitri and I smiled at each other.

**Even as a Strigoi, I'd never entirely been convinced he could kill me. **

"I wasn't entirely convinced myself," Dimitri admitted in a whisper.

I laid my head on his shoulder and felt him relax as he hugged me closer.

**The night the Academy had been attacked, when he'd been turned, he'd told me to obey him without question too. It had meant leaving him to fight Strigoi, but I'd done it.**

"How did you find the strength to leave him fighting strigoi alone?" Sonya asked me softly.

Everyone looked at me for an answer.

I shrugged lightly thoughmyheart constricted in pain, remembering how hard it had been to leave him alone to fight strigoi. All the while, my heart kept telling me to just turn around and go to him. Dimitri squeezed my hand comfortingly. I smiled at him and took a deep breath before replying, "It was my duty. Our duty. I had to warn the others. I couldn't be selfish at that time."

They all looked at me in awe, mom and dad were looking proud and Dimitri was smiling at me reassuringly. I pressed myself closer to him to make sure that he really was here, with me.

After a moment of silence, Abe continued.

'**Okay,' I said quietly. 'I'll do whatever you say. Just remember not to talk down to me. I'm not your student anymore. I'm your equal now.'**

"Weren't you always?" Jill asked, looking surprised at my words. "The day I first saw you two, I thought that you both looked more like friends that mentor and student."

"We were like that. I always saw her as my equal, not as my student." Dimitri clarified. "She commented so only because she needed to say something at that moment."

I elbowed him on the ribs and everyone laughed at my frown.

**He glanced away from the side of the road just long enough to give me a surprised look. 'You've always been my equal, Roza.'**

"Calling her by her nickname when you are pretending to be all business with her doesn't help, D" Christian said wisely.

"I know," Dimitri sighed quietly, "I was so surprised that it just slipped out. I hoped that she didn't notice it."

Lissa smiled, "She probably did."

I looked at the three of them in amusement. "Done? Shall we continue?"

The three of them looked at me as if they had forgotten that I was in the room. I laughed at their expressions before motioning for Abe to continue.

**The use of the affectionate Russian nickname **

Dimitri grinned at me, the kind of grin that lit up his face. He looked so gorgeous at that moment that I felt my breath catch. Really, I needed to control this. Two years! Two years since we've been together, three since we fell in love and still he had the ability to make me feel breathless just by grinning at me. I sighed and focused back on Abe.

**made me too stupid to respond,**

Dimitri smiled again**.**

Lissa, Sydney, Sonya and mom looked understanding. Wait, what? _Mom_? I so didn't want to know about my parents' romance.

**didn't matter. Moments later, he was all business again. 'There. Do you see that movie theater sign?'**

**I gazed down the road. There were so many restaurants and stores that their signs made a glittering haze in the night. At last, I saw what he meant. WESTLAND CINEMA.**

'**Yes.'**

'**That's where we're going to meet.'**

"Splitting up?" Abe asked thoughtfully. Then, without waiting for a reply, he continued reading.

**We were splitting up? I'd wanted to part ways **

"You sure?" Christian asked, sniggering.

"Sorry to say, little dhampir but you are not parting ways at all." Adrian joked.

"Yeah," Eddie agreed, smirking, "fate planned to stick you two together."

"As if I knew that," I said annoyed.

**but not like this. In the face of danger, separating suddenly seemed like an awful idea. **

"Shows that you still care," Mikhail said knowledgably.

"I did," I explained, "I just wanted to move on though."

**I'd promised not to argue, though, and kept listening.**

"Wow. You actually listened to him?" Eddie asked, looking surprised, "you didn't even try to argue?"

Everyone looked understandably surprised.

I winked at Dimitri who chuckled.

'**If I'm not there in a half hour, you call this number and go without me.' Dimitri handed me a small piece of paper from his duster pocket. It had a phone number scrawled on it, not one I recognized.**

"It was mine, I believe," Sydney said, looking at Abe for confirmation.

Abe nodded. He must have arranged for her to have a new number as I knew her old one and the one on the paper was a different one.

_**If I'm not there in a half hour. **_**The words were so shocking that I couldn't help my protest this time. **

"It was a matter of time," Adrian said, referring to my protest.

"No, Adrian," I replied, "it was a matter of content."

Adrian looked confused but Abe started to read, not giving him time to ask me to clarify.

'**What do you mean if you're not -ah!'**

Abe dragged the 'ah' melodramatically. Everyone leaned forward in anticipation.

_My father sure knew how create a dramatic atmosphere!_

**Dimitri made another abrupt turn, one that caused him to run a red light and only narrowly miss a number of cars. More honking ensued, but the move had been too sudden for our tail to keep up. I saw our pursuers whiz past on the main road, brake lights flashing as they searched for a place to turn around.**

"You describe it very well," Mikhail praised me.

"She sure did." Eddie said.

I didn't know whether he meant it teasingly or as a compliment. So, I didn't reply.

**Dimitri had taken us into a mall parking lot. **

"Mall?" mom asked, and then smiled. "Good idea."

Dimitri acknowledged the comment with a nod.

**It was packed with cars, and I glanced at the clock to get a grasp for human time. Almost eight o'clock at night. Early in the Moroi day, prime entertainment time for humans.**

Lissa and I grinned at each, recalling the number of movies we had attended when on the run.

**He drove past a few entrances to the mall and finally selected one, pulling into a handicap spot. He was out of the car in one fluid motion, with me following just as quickly.**

Everyone looked very interested, again acting as if I was describing gta game instead of my life.

'**Here's where we split up,' he said jogging toward a set of doors. 'Move fast, but don't run when we're inside. Don't attract attention. Blend in. Wind through it for a little bit; then get out through any exit but this one. Walk out near a group of humans and then head for the theater.' We stepped into the mall. 'Go!'**

"I can see how he was your mentor." Abe said thoughtfully. "Perfect instructions."

"You actually obeyed him?" mom asked, knowing about my disobedience towards figures of authority. But I had always treated Dimitri differently, respecting him and listening to him when I listened to no other. Really, it shouldn't be a surprise that I obeyed him.

**As though afraid I might not move, he gave me a small push toward an escalator while he took off on the main floor. **

"You looked like you would freeze then and there." Dimitri told me apologetically.

I smirked and nodded to the book.

**There was a part of me that wanted to just freeze and stand there,**

Dimitri smiled slightly.

I smirked, waiting for Abe to read on.

**that felt dumbfounded by the sudden onslaught of people, light, and activity. **

"You act as if you came out of the forest after years," Adrian joked.

I found no humor in that. For me, it had been equivalent to coming out of the forest. I had been in jail for so long that I had been momentarily blinded by the crowd of people in front of me.

Christian and Eddie didn't laugh, probably taking in the somber look on my face.

Dimitri squeezed my shoulder supportively and I smiled slightly at him.

**I soon pushed that startled part aside and began heading up the escalator. **

"See comrade, I wasn't about to freeze." I retorted cheekily.

Dimitri shook his head, knowing better than to argue with me.

**Fast reflexes and instinctual reactions were part of my training. **

All the dhampirs in the room nodded.

**I'd honed them in school, **

Everyone smiled, some amused, some sarcastic and some proud.

**in my travels, **

Mom scowled.

**and with him.**

I didn't see the expression on everyone's faces, just locked eyes with Dimitri, reminiscing about our training times in the Academy.

**Everything I'd been taught about eluding someone came rushing back to my head.**

Mom and Dimitri smiled.

**What I wanted to do more than anything was look around and see if I had a follower, but that would have definitely attracted attention. **

"It would have," Abe said gravely.

He would know all about following someone or being followed by someone. He was a mobster after all.

**I had to imagine that, at most, we had a couple minutes' lead on our pursuers. They would have had to turn around to get back to the mall and then circle to spot our car, presuming they figured out we'd gone into the mall. I didn't think Harrisburg had enough of a Moroi presence to summon very many guardians on short notice. The ones they had would likely split up, some searching the mall and some guarding the entrances. This place had too many doors for the guardians to watch them all; my escape choice would be pure luck.**

"woah woah woah," Christian exclaimed in utter disbelief, "you analyzed it so much?"

Everyone other than the guardians looked at me in shock. They probably thought that I just rushed into any situation without thinking at all. The guardians weren't shocked. We had been taught to analyze the situation carefully when in danger. There is no doubt that I'm reckless, but when it came to my duty….I know not to jump right in but to analyze the situation carefully. Dimitri has taught me that much for sure.

**I walked as fast as I reasonably could, weaving through couples, **

Adrian snickered, finding something funny.

All of us, including Sydney, ignored him.

**families with strollers, and giggling teens. I envied that last group. **

"I can understand," Lissa said softly, a strange longing shining in her eyes. I knew it was longing for that kind of carefree life. Our lives have long since ceased to be carefree. And there wasn't a damned thing we could do about it. She was the queen and I was a guardian. Never again could we spend our time in malls, laughing and gossiping without worrying about anything!

I sighed regretfully. Our lives had changed so much!

While I'm really happy with my life now, I couldn't help but wish sometimes for carefree lives, to be able to go to movies with Lissa, partying all night, to be able to go on vacations, just the four of us, Lissa, me, Dimitri and Christian. Our own little outings, no guardians around. I could walk beside Lissa as a friend, not her guardian, holding Dimitri's hand, roaming and sightseeing.

But all that wasn't possible. We had too many responsibilities and guardians would sure as hell accompany us for any sort of vacation.

And in a way, we wouldn't be us if we had a carefree life. Guarding is my life just like ruling the moroi and dhampirs is Lissa's now.

**AN: I have made this chapter reading into two parts because its way too lengthy….honestly the length is concerning! Should I cut down the comments or continue posting in two chapters? Please review and let me know! **


	10. Reading chapter five- 2nd part

**HEY! Sorry for the wait….I've been really busy. Plus my hard disk crashed but luckily I had a copy of this chapter in my mobile. On top of that, my internet connection was not working. Hence the late update. This is sorta treat for my b'day on june 9 :P**

**Thanks a LOT for the reviews! I really appreciate it!**

**Enjoy the reading of chapter 5-second part! **

I shook my head slightly to clear away such thoughts and focused back on Abe. He was in the middle of a sentence….. **not much more: Ann Taylor, Abercrombie, Forever 21 . . .**

Jill and Lissa sighed quietly and identically, no doubt thinking about shopping. I smirked at the shopaholics.

**Ahead of me, I could see the center of the mall where several corridors branched out. I'd have a choice to make soon.**

"Choice?" Eddie asked, probably wondering what choice I had to make in the mall while trying to escape the guardians**. **

"Yes, Eddie." I said, acting as if I was exasperated, "choice."

He shook his head at my exasperation.

**Passing an accessories store, I ducked inside and pretended to look at headbands. As I did, I covertly glanced back out to the mall's main section. **

"You've inherited sneakiness from your father, that's for sure," mom said dryly.

In a rare moment of camaraderie, Abe and I grinned at each other.

**I saw nothing obvious. No one had stopped; no one had followed me into the store. **

"Good." Abe and Mikhail said together.

**Beside the headbands section was a clearance bin filled with items that obviously deserved to be on clearance.**

Christian rolled his eyes, "obviously."

"I believe that is what I said," I replied snarkily.

"What you thought," he amended.

"Big difference," I muttered.

"Roza, enough." Dimitri said gently in my ear, trying in vain to prevent our argument.

"It is a big difference." Christian said as if he was doing me a favor by explaining it to me. "It means…"

But he got no further. Lissa had placed a hand over his mouth, preventing his lecture.

He shot her a betrayed look but she smiled angelically.

Everyone laughed. I knew they were glad that our argument had been stopped.

**One item was a 'girly' baseball cap, hot pink with a star done in rainbow rhinestones on the front. **

Lissa and Jill grimaced in distaste.

**It was god-awful.**

Lissa and Jill's grimace deepened, as if they were imagining such a cap.

Sydney, Sonya and I laughed at their expressions.

**I bought it,**

"What?" Jill asked, a horrified look on her face, as if I had committed some atrocity by buying the awful cap.

"Why?" Lissa asked me curiously.

"I am sure it is mentioned in the book." Sydney answered for me.

I was too busy trying to contain my laughter. Jill's reaction was honestly amusing.

**grateful the guardians hadn't taken away the meager cash I'd had on me when arrested. **

"They must have concluded that it wouldn't do any harm." Dimitri said thoughtfully.

All the guardians in the room nodded.

**They probably figured it wasn't enough to bribe anyone. **

"Right." Abe agreed.

"Who would you bribe?" Adrian asked curiously.

We all looked at him inquisitively.

"He meant to ask how you could bribe the guardians because we all know that they are generally un-bribable." Jill explained, in lieu of Adrian.

Understanding dawned on everyone's faces though no one answered Adrian, or rather Jill.

I was busy puzzling if 'unbribable' was a proper word. Seeing Lissa, Dimitri and Sydney smile amusedly at Jill, I concluded that it was not. These three would know.

**I also bought a ponytail holder, all the while still keeping an eye on the store's doorway. Before leaving, I bound my hair up as much as I could with the holder and then put on the hat.**

"It's a good thing that you thought of disguising yourself." mom said approvingly.

Dimitri nodded, agreeing with her.

"She is my daughter after all," Abe said proudly, "from where else does she get all these ingenious ideas? It's in the genes."

_Hadn't he accused me of being dumb just a while ago?_

"You mean to say that I lack in ingenious ideas?" mom asked Abe, miffed. "For your information, Ibrahim, Rose is a lot like me too. The way she planned her course of action is enough of an indication that she is like me. To whom else would you attribute her excellent guarding techniques?"

"Umm…..to my training?" I asked mom hesitantly.

I wasn't used to my parents arguing over me, much less arguing on who I was like. Both seem very proud of me. That was enough to catch me off guard. I definitely wasn't used to them caring about me, much less coddling me. I, pretty much, have been caught off guard every time my parents did anything parent-like.

Abe grinned smugly at my response but I interrupted him before he could say anything, "You both need to stop arguing. Have you thought that I am the way I am because I am me?"

My convoluted sentence stunned everyone for a second, and then everyone started laughing. Abe and mom's argument was forgotten just like that but it was still fresh in my mind.

"That was super weird," I said softly to Dimitri.

"They love you," he stated.

I didn't know how to react to that so I kept quiet.

**There was something silly about being reduced to disguises, but my hair was an easy way to ID me.**

"That's definitely true." Abe remarked imperiously.

_Did he really have to comment on everything?_

**It was a deep, almost-black brown,**

"And very soft," Dimitri added softly, running his fingers thorough my hair.

I smiled up at him.

**and my lack of any recent haircut had it hanging to my mid-back. **

Dimitri smiled, looking lost in thought as he wound a lock of my hair around his fingers.

**In fact, between that and Dimitri's height, we would have made a very conspicuous pair walking through here.**

There were murmurs of agreement from all sides.

Dimitri still looked like he was in a daze so I poked him in the ribs. He raised his eyebrow at me.

_Damn him! I wanted to do that!_

**I merged back into the shoppers and soon reached the mall's center. Not wanting to show any hesitation, I took a left toward Macy's. **

"Ah…Macy's" Jill sighed dreamily.

"Jill," Adrian laughed, "you sound as if you are thinking about the love of your life, not a shop!"

Christian and I laughed, agreeing with Adrian while both Eddie and Jill blushed!

**As I walked, I felt slightly embarrassed at the hat **

"As you should," Lissa chided as if I had committed an offence.

"I bought the hat for disguise, Liss." I reminded her, "Not for style."

"Yeah, but…." Lissa broke off, a particular look on her face.

Jill looked like she wanted to agree. Sydney and I glanced at each other, exasperated.

**and wished I'd at least had time to find a more stylish one. **

I narrowed my eyes at the sisters, but thankfully they didn't comment.

**Minutes later, when I spotted a guardian, I was glad I'd made such a quick fashion choice.**

"Wasn't much of a fashion choice," Lissa said teasingly. She knew I was getting exasperated and wanted to tease me more.

"These two sisters!" I grumbled under my breath for Lissa's benefit.

Lissa and Jill grinned at each other, thinking that they were successful in winding me up. I let them have this moment of sisterly bonding. I wanted this for them both.

Everyone seems to have accepted my little act, everyone except for the amazing man next to me. His eyes reflected his pride and love for me and I grinned at him secretively. He pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head.

**He was near one of those carts you always see in the center of malls, pretending to be interested in cell phone covers. I recognized him first because of his stance and the way he was managing to act interested in a zebra print phone cover while simultaneously searching around him. **

Everyone listened attentively to Abe, waiting to see if the guardian had noticed me.

**Plus, dhampirs could always distinguish each other from humans with close enough examination**

"I don't see how you can distinguish between humans and dhampirs," Sydney said, frowning.

"We can because we are awesome?" I offered.

Eddie grinned and gave me a high five. Sydney rolled her eyes at us and Christian coughed to hide a laugh.

**For the most part, our two races appeared pretty identical, but I could spot one of my own.**

I shot Sydney a cocky look. She looked exasperated but couldn't keep a small smile off her face.

_I always knew I amuse her!_

**I made sure not to look right at him and felt his eyes pass over me.**

Mikhail clucked.

**I didn't know him, which meant he probably didn't know me either. He was likely going off a photo he'd seen once and expected my hair to be a big giveaway. **

"I am sure he did," mom commented, more to herself.

**Keeping as casual an air as I could, I moved past him at a leisurely pace, glancing in windows that kept my back to him but sent no obvious messages that I was on the run.**

"Of course you didn't," Christian said off-handedly.

_Was that an insult or a compliment?_

**All the while, my heart pounded in my chest. Guardians could kill me on sight. **

Mom nodded grimly.

**Did that apply to the middle of a mall?**

"Do you really want to find out?" Christian asked me, smirking.

Abe smiled as he read the next line.

**I didn't want to find out.**

Everyone looked amused while Christian and I grinned at each other. We both were too much alike when it came to snark.

**When I was clear of the cart, I picked up my pace a little. Macy's would have its own outside door, and now it was just a gamble to see whether or not I'd made a good call coming in this direction. **

**I entered the store, went down its escalator, and headed toward the main floor exit—passing a very nice selection of cute berets and fedoras. **

"That reminds me," Jill murmured thoughtfully, "I brought some super cute berets for you all." She smiled at us girls.

Lissa, Sydney, Sonya and I smiled at her.

**I paused near them, not because I planned on upgrading my hat,**

"That would have been overkill," Adrian commented.

Christian sneakily glanced at Abe and then grinned at me. I stifled a laugh. Abe's dressing sense was indeed overkill.

**but because it allowed me to fall in step just behind a group of girls who were also exiting.**

"This seems just like a spy movie," Eddie chuckled, "you know, dodging police, hiding in stores in mall, wearing disguises and fooling authority."

Adrian and Christian nodded in agreement.

"Well, lucky me." I said dryly, "I live a movie style life."

"That you do, little dhampir." Adrian teased.

I didn't respond. It had just occurred to me that my life had indeed been like a script of a thriller movie. Thank god I still had the two people who mattered most to me. I almost lost Lissa with Avery and I had briefly lost Dimitri. They both were safe now, with me; together we had overcome the odds and will continue to do so.

**We left the store together, and my eyes quickly adjusted to the change in light. There were lots of people around, but I again saw nothing threatening. My girls stopped to chat,**

"_Your_ girls?" Adrian asked, snickering.

Christian and Eddie were chuckling and everyone looked amused.

I huffed in exasperation. _Did they really have to poke fun at everything? _

"You would have done the very same thing, Roza," Dimitri whispered in my ear, guessing my thoughts, "had that been someone else's comment."

I shot him a pissed off look but made no move to move away from him. He laughed softly, teasingly. I was trying hard to prevent my lips from twitching upward.

**giving me an opportunity to get my bearings without appearing totally lost. To my right, I spotted the busy road Dimitri and I had come in on, and from there, I knew how to get to the movie theater. I exhaled in relief and cut across the parking lot, still watching my surroundings.**

**The farther I walked from the mall, the less crowded the parking lot became.**

"I feel like something bad is about to happen," Abe said, musingly.

_Did he get that vibe from the book?_

**Lampposts kept it from being totally dark, but there was still an eerie feel as things grew quieter and quieter.**

"I don't like this," mom murmured.

Mikhail nodded, sharing her thoughts. Eddie's eyes were narrowed and everyone else looked curious.

Dimitri who had been frowning lightly turned his head to meet my eyes and raised his eyebrow. He was asking me if it was the fight that I had told him about. I nodded my head and smiled.

**My initial impulse was to head right for the road and take the sidewalk directly to the theater.**

"You can't do that." Mom chided, "The guardians could spot you easily."

"I know, mom." I replied, "That's why it's mentioned _initial _impulse_." _

"Oh" mom said, looking slightly embarrassed.

I just smirked at her but Abe couldn't control his laugh. That earned him an elbow from mom.

**It was well lit and had people. But a moment later, I decided it was too conspicuous. I was pretty sure I could cut across parking lots much more quickly to get to the theater.**

**It proved true—kind of. **

Everyone looked confused. _Their expressions were really entertaining!_

**I had the theater in sight when I realized I had been followed after all. **

Lissa and Jill gasped identically. Everyone looked wary.

Abe clenched his jaw and continued reading.

**Not far ahead of me, the shadow of a parking lamp's post didn't cast correctly.**

"Guardians notice all that?" Adrian asked in shock then answered himself, "of course"

Everyone looked amused but I could see where Adrian was coming from. I knew that majority of the moroi didn't care about their guardians' training methods and wouldn't know just how tough, alert and efficient our training made us.

**The shadow was too broad. Someone was behind the pole. I doubted a guardian had coincidentally picked this spot in the hopes Dimitri or I would come by. Most likely it was a scout who'd seen me and circled ahead for an ambush.**

Eddie frowned, "so he did recognize you."

I nodded, "unfortunately."

Abe shook his head and continued. Most likely he was disappointed that I had been noticed. _Whatever!_

**I kept walking, trying not to obviously slow down, though every muscle in my body was tensing for attack. **_**I **_**had to be the one who attacked first. I had to be in control.**

All the guardians nodded, knowing how important it was to be in control in that situation.

**My moment came, **

The trio grinned in anticipation while Lissa looked worried.

**seconds before I suspected my ambusher would have made his move. I leapt out, throwing him—it turned out to be a dhampir I didn't recognize— against a nearby car.**

Almost everyone tensed up as if the fight was happening here and now. Everyone except Dimitri and I.

**Yup. I'd surprised him. **

Mom, Mikhail and Dimitri nodded in approval.

**Of course, the surprise was mutual when the car's alarm went off, **

"Oops," Lissa giggled.

"Exciting," Adrian said, rubbing his hands together.

**blaring into the night. I winced, trying to ignore the shrieking as**

**I punched my captive on the left side of his jaw. I had to make the most of having him pinned.**

**The force of my fist knocked his head against the car, but he took it admirably, promptly pushing back in an effort to free himself. He was stronger, and I did stumble a little, but not enough to lose my balance. What I lacked in strength, I made up for in speed.**

"Just like you taught me," I whispered in Dimitri's ear.

He smiled at me, proudly and fondly.

**I dodged each attempt at me, but it brought me little satisfaction. **

Everyone chuckled at that statement.

**That stupid car alarm was still going strong, and it was eventually going to attract the attention of other guardians or human authorities.**

**I dashed around the side of the car, and he gave chase, stopping when we were on opposite sides.**

"This is getting more and more interesting," Christian murmured.

**It was like two kids playing keep-away. We mirrored each other as he tried to anticipate which direction I'd go. In the dim lighting, I saw something surprising tucked into his belt: a gun. **

Everyone drew in a breath as one.

**My blood ran cold. Guardians were trained to use guns but rarely carried them. Stakes were our weapon of choice. We were in the business of killing Strigoi,**

"Business of killing strigoi," Adrian echoed, laughing.

Abe smiled as he read.

**after all, and guns were ineffective. But against me? Yeah. **

"Yeah what?" Eddie asked, confused.

"If you hadn't interrupted, you would have found out by now," I replied dryly.

**A gun simplified his job, but I had a feeling he'd hesitate to use it. **

"A gunshot would draw more attention." Mom murmured, more to herself that others. "And the last thing needed was more attention."

I nodded.

**A car alarm could be blamed on someone accidentally getting too close, but a gunshot? That would elicit a call to the police. This guy wouldn't fire if he could help it—but he **_**would **_**if he ran out of options.**

**This needed to end soon.**

**At last I made a move toward the front of the car. He tried to intercept me, but then I surprised him by springing onto the car's hood **

Dimitri nodded thoughtfully, possibly analyzing how I could end the fight.

**(because honestly, at this point, it wasn't like the alarm could get any louder). **

**In my split second of advantage, I threw myself off the car and onto him, knocking him flat to the ground. I landed on top of his stomach and held him down with all my weight while my hands went around his neck. He struggled, trying to throw me off, and nearly succeeded. At last, the lack of air won out.**

"Finish." Adrian said, dragging out the word to make it sound fineeeesh.

Everyone chuckled.

"And the winner is….ROSE." Eddie declared.

Adrian and Christian made a huge show of clapping. Lissa and Jill joined in enthusiastically.

I couldn't help myself. I made a huge show of bowing and nodding, accepting the claps, all the while grinning goofily.

Mom, Dimitri and Sydney looked amused while Abe and Mikhail were chuckling.

After a minute, Abe continued.

**He stopped moving and fell into unconsciousness. I let go.**

**For a brief moment, I had a flashback to our escape from Court, when I'd used the same technique on Meredith. I saw her lying on the ground all over again and felt that same pang of guilt.**

"Oh, Rose." Lissa sighed, "You just did what you had to."

"I know," I said softly.

**Then, I shook it off. Meredith was okay. **

"She was." Lissa confirmed.

I nodded yet again.

**Meredith wasn't even here.**

**None of that mattered. All that mattered was that this guy was out of commission, and I had to get out of here. Now.**

**Without looking to see if others were coming, I tore off across the parking lot toward the theater. I stopped once I had some distance between me and the wailing car,**

The trio snickered at the words, 'wailing car.'

I rolled my eyes at them.

**using another car as cover. I saw no one near the guy yet, but over by the parking lot's front, close to the mall, there seemed to be some activity. I didn't stick around to get a closer look. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good for me.**

**I reached the theater a couple minutes later, breathless more from fear than exhaustion.**

Adrian raised his eyebrow skeptically at the word 'fear.'

I ignored him.

**Running endurance was something I had built up a lot of, thanks to Dimitri.**

"Aren't you glad for all times I had made you run?" Dimitri asked me teasingly.

"Nope," I replied cheekily, "running endurance was just a bonus added to my kick-ass personality."

He chuckled, knowing that I wasn't going to admit that the running had helped me. But, he knew that I was thankful to him for making me run and build my endurance. He had been right. Running had helped me a lot of times.

**But where **_**was **_**Dimitri? **

"Here," Adrian exclaimed, pointing at Dimitri who was snuggled up in the couch beside me.

All of us rolled our eyes.

**Theatergoers mingled around, some giving my disheveled state an odd look, **

"That's natural," Sydney said sensibly, "it's not every day you see girls looking as if they had been involved in a fight and sporting that pink baseball hat."

"I lost the hat in the fight." I informed her, ignoring the rest of her sentence.

She rolled her eyes at my words then giggled, "Was that a great loss?"

I laughed, "Yeah. Who would want to lose such a cute hat?"

Both of us giggled at the thought of missing the awful hat. Adrian and Dimitri looked at each other, then at us, smiling at the sight of us laughing.

**as they either waited for tickets or discussed what movie they'd just seen. I saw no sign of Dimitri anywhere.**

"Waiting to arrive in style huh, Dimitri?" Adrian asked, grinning.

Christian, Eddie and I snickered while Dimitri rolled his eyes.

**I had no watch.**

Dimitri and I smiled at each other before glancing at my watch. It was a pretty thing that I wore almost always. Dimitri had brought it to me a while back when he realized that I had no watch. My old one was lost in 's and I hadn't bothered to replace it.

**How long had passed since we'd parted? Surely not a half hour.**

"Past half hour, Close to one hour actually." Dimitri informed me.

I just looked at him, stunned. He chuckled at whatever expression was on my face.

**I walked around the theater, staying obscured in the crowd, searching for any indication of Dimitri or more pursuers. Nothing. Minutes ticked by. Uneasily, I reached into my pocket and touched the piece of paper with the phone number. Leave, he'd told me.**

"Could you?" Lissa asked me softly.

"Would you?" Sydney asked at the same time.

I just laughed, not answering either of their questions. They knew that I couldn't and wouldn't have left Dimitri.

**Leave and call the number. Of course, I had no cell phone, but that was the least of my problems right now—**

"That's for sure," Christian muttered.

'**Rose!'**

"He came!" Jill exclaimed in delight before flushing.

Everyone grinned at her, amused. She flushed even more and wouldn't meet Dimitri's eyes or anyone else's for that matter.

**A car pulled up at the curb where others were dropping people off. Dimitri was leaning out the driver's side window, and I nearly fell over in relief. **

Dimitri raised his eyebrow at me while Sonya and Lissa smiled widely. Christian, Adrian and Eddie looked at me wide-eyed. Before either of them could comment, I ordered Abe to read. Yeah, ordered. And for once, the zmey listened.

**Well, okay, not nearly. **

"Not nearly?" Christian asked mockingly, "meaning you really did fall over."

"Not to forget, she fell over in _relief_." Adrian reminded him, choking back a laugh.

"I did not fall over!" I snapped, "If you had just waited for Abe to read the next sentence, you would have known."

When Adrian, Christian and Eddie made a bet on whether or not I 'fell over', Dimitri leaned closer to me and whispered, "I quite like how you were relieved on seeing me."

"You would like it," I grumbled before remarking, "Don't tell me you weren't relieved on seeing me."

Dimitri just smiled at me, answering me wordlessly.

**In reality, I didn't waste a moment in hurrying over to him and hopping into the passenger seat. **

"Told you she wouldn't have fallen over," Eddie told Adrian. Christian was smirking smugly.

"Yeah, well. She loves him." Adrian sniffed.

"Doesn't have to make _her_ trip." I pitched in, scowling at Adrian.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that." Adrian defended himself, "love makes you do crazy things."

"Meaning you trip every time when you see Sydney?" I asked, laughing.

Christian and Eddie laughed loudly while the rest looked exasperated at our bantering though I did catch a glint of amusement on their faces.

**Without a word, he hit the gas and got us away from the theater and back to the main road. We said nothing at first. **

"Man, I am still confused. How did Rose say nothing?" Christian asked rhetorically. I knew he was just pulling me leg. He knew that I could be silent…..in _some_ situations.

**He was so wound up and on edge, it seemed the slightest provocation would make him snap in half. **

"It would have." Dimitri admitted.

"I know," I said intelligently.

Dimitri quickly leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips. I smiled as he pulled away, watching the smile on his face.

**He drove as fast as he could without attracting police attention, all the while glancing into the rearview mirror.**

'**Is there anyone behind us?' I asked at last, as he drove back onto the highway.**

Abe looked very curious.

'**It doesn't look like it. It'll take them a while to figure out what car we're in."**

**I hadn't paid much attention when I'd entered, but we were in a Honda Accord—**

"Another Honda," I muttered. I recalled being exasperated at Hondas being our get-away cars.

**another ordinary-looking car. I also noticed that there was no key in the ignition.**

"Ooh….the goody guardian stealing?" Christian couldn't resist teasing Dimitri.

"It was necessary," Dimitri replied, the corners of his lips twitching upwards.

'**Did you hotwire this car?' I then rephrased my question. 'Did you **_**steal **_**this car?'**

"How else would he have gotten it?" mom asked, exasperated at my question.

"No harm in asking." I muttered under my breath.

'**You have an interesting set of morals,' he observed. 'Breaking out of jail is okay. But steal a car, and you sound totally outraged.'**

Everyone laughed at that statement.

Mom shot Abe a smug look. _Smug? What about?_

'**I′m just more surprised than outraged,' I said, leaning back against the seat. I sighed. 'I was afraid . . . well, for a moment there, I was afraid you weren't coming. That they'd caught you or something.'**

"You admitted that?" Lissa asked, looking surprised. She knew that I hated admitting that I was afraid.

"To him," Sonya told Lissa, "he is a different case altogether."

Lissa nodded in understanding while I grumbled, "much good it did." I glared at Dimitri, remembering his response. Dimitri looked down to hide his smile.

Lissa looked puzzled but didn't ask.

'**No. Most of my time was spent sneaking out and finding a suitable car.'**

"Didn't it affect you when she admitted that she was afraid for you?" Mikhail asked Dimitri curiously.

"It did," Dimitri replied, "but I felt that I shouldn't show it."

Both Dimitri and I sighed regretfully before embracing each other tightly but subtly.

**A few minutes of silence fell. 'You didn't ask what happened to me,' I pointed out, a little miffed.**

Christian, Adrian, Eddie and Abe chuckled.

"Even I would have been," Lissa admitted before frowning at Dimitri, "you should have asked her, you know."

"I thought it would show that I cared for her, that I was concerned about her." Dimitri explained softly, "and I didn't want that. Not when my own feelings were jumbled."

Everyone nodded.

Dimitri turned to look at me, his eyes apologetic but I just shook my head and smiled.

_It wasn't his fault. _

'**Don't need to. You're here. That's what counts.'**

"True." mom agreed.

'**I got in a fight.'**

'**I can tell. Your sleeve is ripped.'**

**I glanced down. Yup, ripped. I'd also lost the hat in my mad dash. No big loss. **

Jill giggled.

'**Don't you want to know anything about the fight?'**

"Desperate much?" Christian asked sardonically.

I didn't respond; too busy interlocking and separating mine and Dimitri's fingers.

**His eyes stayed on the road ahead of us. 'I already know. **

Abe raised his eyebrow as he read.

**You took down your enemy. You did it fast, and you did it well. Because you're just that good.'**

"That's sweet," Jill said, beaming.

"It's true though." Sydney said, "Not just sweet."

I smiled at them.

**I pondered his words for a moment. **

"What was there to ponder about?" Eddie asked.

I shrugged.

**They were matter-of-fact, all business . . . and yet, his statement brought a tiny smile to my lips. **

I smiled widely at Dimitri on hearing that. His breath caught slightly as he smiled back. _Had I used my man-eater smile without realizing it? _

I knew that my own breath caught when he smiled his genuine small smiles. They made me feel warm just like they used to three years ago in the gym of 's when we had just began training together.

'**Okay. So what now, General? Don't you think they'll scan reports of stolen cars and get our license plate number?'**

"Oh, they will, they will," Abe confirmed.

'**Likely. But by then, we'll have a new car—one they won't have any clue about.'**

**I frowned. 'How are you pulling that off?'**

'**We're meeting someone in a few hours.'**

Sydney smiled.

'**Damn it. I **_**really **_**hate being the last one to know about everything.'**

"We _know_." Everyone chorused together.

I grinned at them all.

'**A few hours' put us in Roanoke, Virginia. Most of our drive had passed uneventfully up until that point. But as the city came into view, I noticed Dimitri watching the exit signs until he found the one he wanted. Turning off the interstate, he continued checking for a tail and found none. We reached another commerce-filled road, and he drove to a McDonald's that stood out clearly from the rest of the businesses.**

"Hungry?" Lissa asked.

"When is she not?" Christian replied snarkily.

He sure had enough experience of my hunger. After all, I was the one that usually devoured his dishes, just sparing enough for him, Lissa and Dimitri.

I loved it when he and Dimitri cooked together. Both were great in cooking. They cooked together occasionally for me and Lissa.

'**I don't suppose,' I said, 'that this is a food break?'**

"Doubt it, little girl." Abe smirked.

I huffed at 'little girl'.

'**This,' he responded, 'is where we catch our next ride.'**

**He drove around the restaurant's parking lot, his eyes scanning for something, though I didn't initially know what. I spotted it a fraction of a second before he did. In the far corner of the lot, I saw a woman leaning against a tan SUV, her back to us. I couldn't see much of her except that she wore a dark shirt and had tousled blond hair that almost touched her shoulders.**

"Ah! My super amazing, beautiful fiancé, my sugarplum has arrived," Adrian exclaimed.

Christian, Eddie and I laughed at him while Sydney blushed.

**Dimitri pulled into the spot next to her vehicle, and I was out of ours the second he hit the brake. I recognized her before she even turned around.**

'**Sydney?' The name came out as a question, though I knew for sure it was her.**

Sydney and I smiled at each other.

**Her head turned, and I saw a familiar face—a human face—with brown eyes that could turn amber in the sun and a faint gold tattoo on her cheek.**

Sydney's smile widened and Adrian smiled warmly at her.

'**Hey, Rose,' she said, a rueful smile playing on her lips.**

"Always a rueful smile for me," I sighed, faking hurt, then quickly amended on meeting her eyes, "in the past, not now."

Sydney grinned at me.

**She held up a McDonald's bag. 'Figured you'd be hungry.'**

"Lifesaver," I declared, "you know. All this food talk is making me hungry."

Without waiting for anyone, I quickly skipped out of the room to the palace kitchen to fix something for myself.

**AN****: So how was it?**

**Just a heads up- the next update will take time. You see, finals are just around the corner! Sorry!**

**Imp:**** hey, I really wanted to know where exactly in last sacrifice is the quote "Juliet had it easy. She never had to kill Romeo?" Strangely, my copy of LS does not have this quote and I keep seeing this in all VA domains of the web. Could someone please clear this up for me? In which place, at which situation does Rose say this? Does Rose even say it? ****Please clue me in. **


	11. Reading chapter six- first part

**Hey! Sorry for the delay in updating….my exams were going on so I didn't have time to write. Finally my exams are over and its holidays now….though only for three weeks! :(**

**As always, thanks a LOT to all those who reviewed, favourited or followed this story! Also thanks to my friend Namrata for being supportive and to Deniz for pointing out the correct spelling of the Turkish word for child!**

**Anyways here is the first part of sixth chapter reading….in Dimitri's pov….enjoy!**

**Oh and I don't own vampire academy….sadly!**

**DPOV**

By the time Rose returned from the kitchen, Sonya had taken the book to read. As soon as Rose settled comfortably beside me, Sonya started reading.

"**Chapter SIX**

**R****EALLY, WHEN YOU THOUGHT ABOUT it, Sydney showing up wasn't much weirder than half the other stuff that seemed to happen to me on a regular basis."**

Lissa smiled, "that's true,"

"What does this tell you?" Christian asked then answered himself, "that Rose is weird!"

Adrian and Eddie chuckled.

"Very funny," Rose remarked sarcastically. "Weirdo," She added.

Christian shot her a glare but didn't reply. Rose grinned at him smugly.

Lissa and I rolled our eyes.

**Sydney was an Alchemist**

"Not anymore," Adrian sang.

"Not anymore." Sydney echoed, smiling.

We had been shocked when Sydney had told us that she had quit her job as an alchemist. As far I knew, it was a lifelong job, no exit allowed. According to Sydney, Alchemists destroyed the identity of the escaped Alchemists, hunting them down and punishing them. That wasn't fair in my opinion. Everyone should have a say in whether they want to do the job or not.

**one I'd met in Russia when trying to find and kill Dimitri. **

I breathed in deeply, trying to banish the memories of _that_ time. Rose caught hold of my hand and squeezed it to help me get rid of the memories. At her touch, I calmed down. _She was truly wonderful!_

**She was my age and had hated being assigned over there, though I'd certainly appreciated her aid. **

Sydney smiled at Rose who grinned at her.

**As Dimitri had noted earlier, the Alchemists would want to help the Moroi find and capture me. Yet, judging from the tension radiating off both her and Dimitri in the car,**

Well, we had been quite wound up. Only Rose seemed to be the one at ease then.

**it became obvious that she was assisting in this escape.**

**With great effort, I pushed my questions to the side for the time being.**

Everyone laughed.

Of course it would have taken Rose a great effort to push aside her questions. I had actually been surprised when she hadn't started questioning Sydney the moment she saw her. While it was true that Rose was not as impulsive as she had been, say five years ago, she still hadn't learnt to be totally in control. _Well, I am not sure that I want her to be_.

**We were still fugitives, still undoubtedly being pursued. Sydney's car was a brand new Honda CR-V with Louisiana plates and a rental sticker.**

'**What the hell?' I asked.**

"What's wrong?" Janine asked, trying to mask her worry.

"Nothing, mom," Rose replied breezily," You'll see."

'**Is this daring escape being sponsored by Honda?' **

I laughed with everyone else. Trust Roza to note that.

**When this got no response, **

I had fought a smile on hearing Rose's question then but had been too keyed up to actually reply.

**I went to the next obvious question. 'Are we going to New Orleans?'**

"Why New Orleans?" Jill asked curiously.

"Patience," Roza sang cheekily.

Ironic that she, the one with the least patience in the room, would say that. I don't what expression I had but Roza chuckled on looking at me and winked. _She was fully aware of the irony, the cheeky temptress!_

**That was Sydney's new post.**

Abe grinned wickedly at Sydney who averted her eyes from him. I knew that Abe was the one responsible for getting her out of Russia and into New Orleans. But why had it done it for her? Abe wasn't someone who did favors out of kindness. No, there must be something else. Well, whatever it was, it wasn't my business.

**Sightseeing was the last thing on my mind at the moment, but if you had to run away, you might as well run somewhere good.**

_Ah, my Roza!_ Only she would think that.

Everyone was smiling at Rose amusedly. Noticing that, Rose shrugged uncaringly.

'**No,' she said, backing out of the spot. 'We're going to West Virginia.'**

Sydney and I grinned, remembering Rose's reaction.

Rose just rolled her eyes, a small smile curving her full lips.

**I looked sharply at Dimitri, who sat in the backseat, in the hopes that he would deny this.**

"Bet he didn't," Christian predicted.

**He didn't.**

Christian smirked smugly.

"West Virginia isn't bad, you know." Abe told his daughter.

"Riiiiiiight…" Rose replied, dragging out the word.

Abe just shook his head at her, smiling _fondly?_

'**I assume by 'West Virginia,' you actually mean 'Hawaii,'' I said. 'Or some place equally exciting.'**

Everyone was either smiling or laughing.

"Little dhampir, you were on the run from the authorities." Adrian choked out in between chuckles, "did the place really matter?"

Rose smirked and quoted her thought from the book, "if you had to run away, you might as well run somewhere good."

"Agreed." Christian nodded.

Lissa rolled her eyes.

'**Honestly, I think you're better off avoiding excitement right now,' Sydney pointed out. The car's GPS device directed her to her next turn, leading us back toward I-81. She frowned slightly. 'And West Virginia's actually really pretty.'**

"Only you think so, Sage," Adrian teased Sydney.

Sydney ignored him.

"It is pretty," Lissa said quietly.

"Slightly modifying Adrian's words," Christian started, "I'd say, only you think so, Liss."

"It's a nice place," I offered.

"You would think so," Rose said, grinning, "Well, you, Sydney and Lissa."

"Okay, enough." Sonya said, laughing, just as Jill and Eddie were about to speak, "there is no need for a debate on whether West Virginia is pretty or not. Let's continue."

Then she started reading again.

**I remembered that she was from Utah and probably didn't know any better. **

"Hey!" Sydney exclaimed indignantly while Rose just smirked at her.

**Having long since given up on any control in this escape plot, I moved on to the next obvious set of questions.**

"Next set?" Janine asked, amused, "how many did you have?"

"A few," Rose replied coolly, surveying her nails.

'**Why are you helping us?'**

"That's what I'd like to know." Jill murmured.

**I had a feeling Sydney was grimacing in the dark. 'Why do you think?'**

"Let's guess," Eddie said, "I say she did it because of friendship. That's the way Sydney is."

"She might have done it because she knew Rose was innocent." Jill offered.

"I'd say it's because of Ibrahim here." Janine said firmly.

Abe smirked at mom who looked back at him sternly.

'**Abe.'**

"Yes?" responded the man in question.

"Very funny, old man." Rose mumbled, rolling her eyes at Abe.

**She sighed. 'I'm really starting to wonder if New Orleans was worth it.'**

Sydney inclined her head as if she was contemplating the answer.

**I'd recently learned that Abe—with that inexplicable, far-reaching influence of his—**

Abe smirked seeing which Rose groaned and averted her eyes from him, opting to turn her face to nuzzle my neck.

**had been responsible for getting her out of Russia. How he'd done it, I didn't know.**

"And I am not sure that I want to know," Rose mumbled.

Abe smirked while Janine looked like she wanted to agree with Rose.

**What I did know was that it had left Sydney in open-ended debt to him, one he kept using to get favors.**

Sydney nodded grimly. Adrian looked at Sydney sympathetically.

**Sometimes, I wondered if there was more to the deal than just a job transfer, like maybe he'd done something else that neither had told me about.**

"You are cleverer than I give you credit for, little girl." Abe commented.

Rose rolled her eyes in response.

Christian said something to which Rose replied back and a debate broke out between the two of them.

While everyone was watching them, I was watching Sydney and Adrian. On hearing Rose's statement, Sydney looked fearful confirming that Abe had indeed done something more for her than just getting her a transfer. Adrian's expression indicated that he knew whatever it was that Abe had done. One thing was certain; neither of them wanted others to find out about it.

**Regardless, I started to chastise her again that she should have expected this for making a deal with the devil, but I soon reconsidered. **

"Rose _reconsidered _something?" Eddie asked, wide eyed.

"What's the world coming to?" Christian muttered under his breath.

"The End, most definitely," Adrian replied to Christian.

"Very funny," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "Really, your jokes are as lame as a dried tomato."

"I'll tell you what's lame." Lissa said, "You four arguing. Now shut up and let Sonya continue reading."

"Yes ma'am." Adrian said loudly.

"As you wish, Your Highness." Christian saluted Lissa.

"Sorry, Your majesty." Eddie said and then bowed down to Lissa.

"Though I can't say that it won't happen again," Rose finished.

Everyone laughed at the look on Lissa's face.

**With a bunch of guardians in pursuit, it probably wasn't a smart idea to tease someone helping me. **

"Since when do you care if something was _a smart idea_ or not?" Christian laughed.

Rose shrugged in response.

I had to agree with Christian. Since when did Rose stop to think if doing something was a smart option or not?

Rose sighed, almost as if she heard me.

"Some faith would be nice, Comrade." She mumbled against my neck.

I laughed quietly before replying, "I do have faith in you, Roza. Very much. I am just surprised that you refrained from teasing Sydney."

I felt Roza smile which automatically made me smile too.

**I asked a different question.**

"So the next question in Rose's set of questions is…." Adrian said cheekily then looked at Sonya expectantly.

Sonya smiled and continued reading.

'**Okay. So why are we going to West Virginia?'**

"To hide, duh." Christian said, rolling his eyes.

Rose glared at him.

**Sydney opened her mouth to respond, but Dimitri interrupted her. 'Not yet.'**

Now Rose shifted her glare to me. But I could see that she wasn't angry. So I just smiled and pulled her closer to me.

**I turned around again and shot him a glare. **

Her glare, capable of scaring anyone, never had any effect on me. With some effort, I pushed back my smile. It wouldn't do to have Roza angry with me.

'**I am so sick of this!**

"We know." Eddie, Christian, Adrian, Lissa, Jill and Sydney chorused together.

Rose rolled her eyes.

**We've been on the run for six hours now, and I still don't know all the details. I get that we're staying away from the guardians,**

"Did you?" Abe questioned under his breath.

Rose either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him.

**but are we seriously going to West Virginia? Are we going to make**

**some cabin our base of operation? Like, one on the side of a mountain that doesn't have plumbing?'**

Adrian, Eddie and Christian burst out laughing.

"That was hilarious, little dhampir." Adrian breathed out in between chuckles.

Eddie laughed louder, "I can clearly imagine you, Dimitri and Sydney holed up in some cabin, poring over sheets and sheets of plans."

"Yeah," Christian agreed, "not to forget the cabin was one side of a mountain without plumbing."

"And that great cabin would serve as the _base of operation_." Adrian added.

"Heavy words, heavy words." Eddie said, faking seriousness.

Lissa sighed, "Sometimes your imagination is utterly absurd, Rose."

Rose had been watching Eddie, Christian and Adrian in amusement but put on a serious face on hearing Lissa's statement. In a voice filled with mock sadness, Rose remarked, "That's the tragedy of having a great imagination. You never get appreciated for it."

Now everyone laughed.

Lissa was right though. Sometimes Rose's imagination can be utterly absurd. Like when she imagined Russia to be an arctic wasteland. I felt myself smile as I remembered all those times that Rose used to tease me back at the academy.

I was pulled out of my musings when I heard Sonya reading again.

**Sydney gave me one of her trademark exasperated sighs. **

"How many exasperated sighs can you have?" Eddie asked curiously.

Rose shrugged before answering, "If you are Dimitri or Sydney, then you have quite a few."

Everyone chuckled.

So I have quite a few exasperated sighs, do I?

On seeing mine and Sydney's raised eyes, Roza grinned cheekily. "What? You know it is true."

"It indeed is, Sugarplum." I heard Adrian say to Sydney but I wasn't looking at them. I stared at Roza fixedly, silently trying to get her to cave in and say that it was not true. But this was Roza and she never gave up. In fact, I seemed to amuse her further as she laughed and pressed a kiss to my cheek. Smiling, I gave up and turned to face Sonya again as she started reading.

'**Do you actually know anything **_**about **_**West Virginia?'**

"Nope," Jill answered brightly instead of Rose.

Lissa giggled while Sydney looked at Rose in amusement. Rose rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sighed as if she was exasperated at everyone. Janine chuckled at her daughter's theatrics.

**I didn't like her and Dimitri teaming up to keep me in the dark.**

"Of course you didn't," Mikhail said jokingly.

"You know that we had to." I explained to Rose.

"Yeah," Sydney agreed, "if you knew everything then you might have made me stop the car and jumped out."

"Can you blame me?" Rose defended herself, "you had plans to keep me in that stupid dingy motel _indefinitely_."

"Actually," Abe said coolly, "I _can_ blame you for going against my perfectly laid out plans."

"What are you guys talking about?" Janine interrupted, "what motel?"

"I think it's best if Sonya continues," I said and gestured to Sonya to continue.

**Of course, with Sydney, her reticence could be from any number of things.**

Adrian looked curious.

**It could still be Abe's orders. **

Abe smirked. Sydney dropped her gaze to the floor.

**Or maybe she just didn't want to talk to me. **

"Most likely," commented Christian, smirking. Lissa hit his arm.

Sydney looked puzzled. "Why did you think that I didn't want to talk to you?"

"I think it might be explained in the book," Rose replied and looked at Sonya.

**Since most Alchemists considered dhampirs and vampires the spawn of hell, they didn't usually get too friendly with us. **

Sydney nodded.

**Spending time with me in Siberia had altered her views a little. I hoped.**

"It did," Sydney confirmed, smiling warmly at Rose.

I knew that they had stayed together in my family house in Baia. Rose had told me in detail about what had happened there. I knew from her narration that Rose had respected Sydney from the start. During the run, I had seen that Sydney too liked and respected Rose. So it was of no surprise that Sydney's view had altered slightly in favor of dhampirs and moroi because of her association with Rose. _My Roza was that sort of person who could charm anyone._

**Sometimes I got the vibe she just wasn't that social of a person to begin with.**

Adrian chuckled and kissed Sydney's forehead.

'**You know we've been set up, right?' I asked her. 'We didn't really do anything. They say I killed the queen, but—'**

'**I know,' Sydney interrupted. 'I've heard all about it. All the Alchemists know about it. You two are at the top of our most wanted list.' She attempted a businesslike tone but couldn't entirely hide her uneasiness. **

"I thought I did," Sydney mumbled.

Jill giggled.

**I had a feeling Dimitri made her more nervous than I did,**

I had that feeling too. It was understandable, of course. I knew I made some people nervous but had never given it much thought.

**which was understandable since he made some of our own people nervous too.**

"Not me." Adrian declared.

Christian snorted and Rose scoffed, "yeah, right. He is badass and you know it."

"Rose…" I attempted to stop her.

"And_ you_ should know it." Rose finished darkly, glaring at me.

I sighed just as everyone laughed.

'**I didn't do it,' I insisted.**

Lissa raised an eyebrow.

**Somehow, it was important that she know that.**

Sydney smiled at Rose. "Of course I knew that you didn't murder the former queen."

"Could have fooled me," Rose mumbled and then laughed at Sydney's glare.

**Sydney didn't acknowledge my comment.**

"See?" Rose asked Sydney, "If you didn't even acknowledge my comment, how was I supposed to know that you knew that I didn't murder the queen?"

Sydney rolled her eyes but smiled at Rose's twisted sentence.

**Instead, she said, 'You should eat. Your food's getting cold. We've got a little over three hours to go and won't be stopping except for gas.'**

"Hold up," Christian interrupted, "I just realized that Rose hadn't touched her food for so long. How is that possible?"

He looked so flabbergasted that everyone chuckled.

Rose looked thoughtful, as if even she was wondering how she hadn't touched the food. I had to laugh at the look of intense speculation on her face. That earned me an elbow from the said speculating girl.

**I recognized the finality in her voice, as well as the logic. **

"No comments." Jill said primly before surrendering to a bout of giggles.

Adrian looked at Jill happily and Eddie was looking at her in awe. Jill sobered up the moment she met Eddie's eyes and blushed slightly. I turned away and looked at Rose who was watching Jill and Eddie with a wide smile on her face. She was very happy for Jill and Eddie.

**She didn't want to talk anymore.**

"When did you want to talk?" Rose grumbled.

Sydney sighed in exasperation. Rose grinned at her.

I saw Lissa watching their interaction with a smile.

**Inside the bag, I found two giant orders of fries, and three cheeseburgers. She apparently still knew me pretty well.**

"Of course I did." Sydney said, smiling.

Rose smiled, "I am glad that you knew me enough to get me food. I had been very hungry then."

Christian snorted and was about to comment but Sonya started reading before he could.

**It took all of my restraint to keep from stuffing fries into my mouth then and there. **

"Typical Rose," Christian said, shaking his head and smirking.

"I was _really _hungry." was what Rose offered as defense.

**Instead, I offered a cheeseburger to Dimitri.**

"Aww" Lissa and Jill crooned together. Rose flinched.

"She gave up her food for him. So romantic," Jill said, dreamily.

"I didn't give it up," Rose reminded them, "I kept two burgers for myself."

"Still, you did give up one." Lissa pointed out.

"More importantly, you thought about him before you ate." Jill said in the same dreamy tone, "You put aside your needs for him."

Everyone was laughing now.

Rose looked at Lissa and Jill incredulously. "I never thought of it like that," she mumbled under her breath, looking beautifully shocked. I chuckled at her expression.

Leave it to Lissa and Jill to find romance in about everything. I had long since gotten used to Lissa's romantic view of life.

'**You want one? Gotta keep up your strength. He hesitated several seconds before taking it. **

Many looked puzzled. I was waiting for what Rose made out of it. Knowing her, I could say for sure that she had grasped the reason behind my hesitation.

**He seemed to regard it with a kind of wonder, and it hit me that eating food was still a new thing for him after these last few months. **

Sonya paused, met my eyes and smiled with empathy before leaning closer to Mikhail for comfort. Being reminded of our strigoi days was still a little hard for us. A slight pressure on my hands reminded me that Roza was here for me. I squeezed her hand and pulled her closer.

**Strigoi only subsisted on blood. I handed him a couple of fries too and then turned back around to devour the rest.**

Christian chuckled. Rose and food put together was his favorite topic of amusement.

**I didn't bother offering any to Sydney.**

"She wouldn't have taken it even if you had offered." Adrian told Rose.

Rose laughed, "That's why I didn't offer her. I know how she eats."

**She was notorious for her lack of appetite, **

"Notorious." Sydney echoed under her breath.

"You should eat well, Sydney." Abe said jovially, "You need to keep up your strength for _social service._"

His tone implied that there was a deeper meaning to that sentence.

Sydney coughed and Abe smothered a laugh. I saw Janine watching them warily and Rose watching Abe with narrowed eyes. I squeezed her shoulder to stop her from questioning Abe. She huffed but kept quiet.

**and besides, I figured she would have eaten already if she'd wanted to while waiting for us.**

"Eating? You mean she would have picked at her food," Adrian said disapprovingly,

Sydney looked at Adrian with an unreadable face. Adrian shook his head and Sydney sighed.

"You should learn something about eating from Rose." Christian told Sydney.

Sydney's somber mood gave way to a teasing smile as she looked at Rose but Adrian looked like he agreed with Christian.

'**I think this is for you,' Dimitri said, handing me a small backpack. I opened it and found a few changes of clothes, as well as some basic toiletries. I double-checked the outfits.**

'**Shorts, shirts, and a dress. I can't fight in these. I need jeans.' **

"Of course you are thinking of fighting." Eddie said, rolling his eyes.

"You didn't need to fight," Lissa said, looking at Rose sternly, "if you had gone along with our plan."

"First of all, I didn't even know the plan." Rose countered, "And second, you should have known that I wouldn't agree to stay put."

"I hoped you would." Lissa mumbled.

Rose just smirked at her.

**The dress was cute, admittedly: a long gauzy sun-dress in a watercolor print of black, white, and gray. **

"Nice choice, by the way." Rose admitted to Sydney, "I never thanked you for it."

Sydney smiled.

**But very impractical.**

Jill sighed.

'**That's gratitude for you,' said Sydney. 'This happened kind of fast. There was only so much I could put together.'**

**Glancing behind me, I saw Dimitri unpacking his own bag. It had basic clothing like mine and also—**

"What?" Christian asked curiously as Sonya paused. I smiled, remembering that moment.

'**A duster?' I exclaimed, watching him pull out the long, leather coat. **

Rose looked exasperated. She always did whenever my duster was mentioned. I grinned at her.

**How it even fit in there defied physics. **

I had to roll my eyes at this. Rose smiled widely.

'**You managed to get him a duster, but you couldn't find me a pair of jeans?'**

"What?" Rose asked everyone who were staring at her, "it's a valid question."

I chuckled, kissing her forehead.

**Sydney seemed unconcerned by my outrage. **

"I knew you weren't really angry," Sydney explained.

'**Abe said it was essential.**

Rose glared at Abe who was chuckling merrily. I was glad that Abe had deemed my duster as an _essential. _It was for me.

**Besides, if all goes like it's supposed to, you won't be doing any fighting.' I didn't like the sound of that. **

Janine shook her head.

_**Safe and remote. **_

"If only you had stayed there." Abe said to Rose who glared at him….again.

**AN****: So how was it? I'm a little apprehensive about this chapter as I wrote it in a hurry! Plus dimitri's point of view is a lot harder than Rose's!**

**Please REVIEW and let me know what you think :)**


	12. Reading chapter six - 2nd part

**Hey! Thanks a lot to all those who followed, favourited and reviewed. In danger of sounding theatrical, I'll say that the reviews really touched my heart! :D **

**Thank you so much! Especially Sam…that was a great compliment! :)**

**This chapter is the reading of one of my most favorite parts of LS…..Rose's daring escape from the motel! I hope I have done justice to it. I'm not a native English speaker but I hope that the grammatical errors are not too many!**

**This chapter is in Dimka's point of view and is also the longest chapter so far! enjoy :)**

**DPOV**

Sonya continued reading,** "****Seeing as I had what were potentially the quietest car companions in the world, **

Adrian snorted, "That's true."

"They aren't the quietest." Abe said, smirking, "that credit only goes to Janine."

Janine shot him a glare.

Rose smothered a laugh.

**I** **knew better than to expect any real conversation for the next three hours.**

"Were they really that bad?" Jill asked curiously.

"Ah, Jill," Christian said, shaking his head, "Rose is just exaggerating. You know how much she loves to talk."

"Oh please," Rose muttered, scowling at Christian. "You weren't there. You don't know how quiet Dimitri and Sydney can be."

"Actually I can imagine," Christian retorted smugly, "you see…."

"Stop it, both of you." Lissa ordered.

Almost in sync, both of them mumbled, "yes, your majesty," before resorting to glare at each other.

I sighed exasperatedly, rubbing my temples. Rose looked away from Christian to smile innocently at me. I couldn't help but sigh again, but this time in defeat. No matter how much she exasperates me, her one smile makes me happy.

**I supposed it** **was just as well because it let me check in on Lissa. **

"Everything happens for a reason." Abe said, wisely.

Rose rolled her eyes.

**I was still too on edge about my** **own escape to spend much time in her head, so it was just a quick assessment of life at** **Court.**

Lissa leaned forward curiously.

**Just as Dimitri had predicted, the guardians had restored order pretty soon. **

All the guardians in the room smiled.

**The Court was under lockdown, and everyone with any connection to me was being questioned extensively. The thing was, they all had alibis. **

Abe smirked.

**Everyone had seen my allies**

"Heavy words, heavy words." Eddie said again.

**at the funeral—or, in Abe's case, **_**thought **_**they'd seen them. **

The smirk stayed on in Abe's face. It was in situations like these that I could see how much Rose was like her father.

**A couple girls swore they'd been with Adrian, which I could only imagine was the result of more compulsion. **

Adrian nodded. For some reason, Sydney shuddered.

**I could feel Lissa's satisfaction through the bond as the guardians' frustration grew and grew.**

"Bad girl, Lissa," Rose said, teasing the queen.

Lissa poked her tongue out at Rose who laughed merrily.

**Although she had no idea when I might be checking in on her, she sent me a message through the bond: **_**Don't worry, Rose. I'll take care of everything. We're going to clear your name.**_

Christian smiled.

**I slumped back in the car seat, unsure how to feel about this situation. **

Everyone looked puzzled but I could tell what Rose had been feeling.

**All my life, I'd taken care of her. **

Everyone smiled at Rose who grinned widely.

**I'd protected her from danger and gone out of my way to keep her away from any threats. **

"You have." Lissa confirmed, smiling warmly at Roza. Christian smiled at Rose thankfully and Abe and Janine were smiling proudly.

**Now, the roles were reversed. **

"Actually, they weren't." Lissa denied.

"Will you let Sonya continue?" Rose asked her in amusement.

Lissa nodded to Sonya.

**She'd come through for me in saving Dimitri, **

Both Roza and I smiled at Lissa.

Really, Roza and Lissa's friendship was one of a kind. Both would do anything for the other. Where can you find a moroi who learns to stake strigoi in hopes of restoring her dhampir best friend's strigoi love? Roza has, throughout her life, protected and cared for Lissa and Lissa has been there to help Roza whenever she needed it.

Suddenly I remembered my own, dead best friend Ivan and I felt my heart clench painfully. The memories of him were still painful.

Rose quietly kissed my cheek and leaned into me, providing me the comfort I needed. I knew that she understood just where my thoughts had been. I tried to shake away the memories and concentrated on listening to Sonya read. She was in the middle of a sentence-

"**-troubled me. I wasn't used to being protected by others, let alone her.**

Of course she wasn't used to it. She was the one protecting the others. It was one of the very many reasons for which I loved Roza. That didn't mean that I wouldn't protect her when it was necessary.

I caught Lissa grinning at Rose, looking quite proud, _of what?_ I didn't know.

**The interrogations were still going on, and Lissa hadn't had hers yet, but something told me my friends were going to get off the hook for this. **

Abe smirked, "Maybe the knowledge that your father's idea was ingenious told you that your friends were not going to be suspected?"

Rose sighed wearily, "I am not in the mood to argue, old man."

I raised an eyebrow**. **_Since when is Rose not in a mood to argue?_

Abe just shook his head, smirking all the while.

**They wouldn't be punished for my escape, and for the moment, I was really the only one in danger—which was what I preferred.**

Lissa, Janine, Sydney, Sonya and I sighed in exasperation.

Rose laughed.

**West Virginia might have been as beautiful as Sydney claimed, **

"It was," Sydney stated.

"Right," Adrian appeased her while looking as if he didn't believe it.

**but I couldn't really tell since it was the middle of the night when we arrived. Mostly I had the sense of driving through mountains, feeling the ups and downs as we went through switchbacks and tunnels.**

"Camping in the mountains, eh Rosie?" Christian smirked, rubbing his hands, "enjoyed the wilderness?"

"You have no idea," Rose said darkly, looking caught up in memories.

Both Sydney and I chuckled, knowing very well that Rose was thinking about our stay with the keepers.

Christian looked stunned that Rose hadn't replied back sarcastically and resigned himself to silence. _He was just as amusing as Rose sometimes!_

**After almost exactly three hours, we rolled into a small hole of a town that had one traffic light and a restaurant simply marked DINER. **

"Really?" Adrian asked, "Who names a restaurant DINER?"

"Wait for it, there is more." Rose said cheerfully.

**There hadn't been any traffic on the road for over an hour, though, which was really the most important thing.**

"You hadn't been followed." Eddie said seriously.

**We hadn't been followed.**

Eddie grinned while Jill looked at him proudly. I saw Rose and Lissa exchanging glances and Sydney giggling.

**Sydney drove us to a building with a sign that read MOTEL. **

Everyone looked amused.

**Apparently, this town liked to stick to the basics when it came to names. I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually just called TOWN. **

"Children, in West Virginia, there is a town called TOWN." Eddie said, acting like a teacher for kindergarten kids.

I had a feeling that everyone laughed more for Eddie's impersonation that the joke itself.

**As we walked across the motel's parking lot, I was surprised to feel how sore my legs were. Every part of me ached, and sleep sounded fantastic.**

I remembered being very tired too. It had been a really long day.

**It had been more than half a day since this adventure began.**

"Figures that being on run from the authorities was adventure for you," Janine said, disapprovingly.

Rose shrugged, unconcerned about Janine's tone.

Janine looked like she wanted to comment but a look from Abe silenced her. I masked my surprise and looked away.

**Sydney checked us in under fake names and the sleepy desk clerk didn't ask any questions. **

"I would hate to have his job." Christian said, shuddering.

"What's this, Ozera?" Adrian asked, mockingly, "considering being a desk clerk?"

Christian rolled his eyes and said, "That job is fit for you, Ivashkov. You certainly have the charm needed for it."

Lissa sighed, "First it's Rose and Christian, then its Christian and Adrian. Seriously guys, stop bickering like children."

"You realize your boyfriend is the one causing trouble?" Eddie asked her cautiously, "his name is there in both the fighting pairs."

Rose snorted at the '_fighting pairs'_ part while Lissa just sighed. Christian grinned and kissed her.

"No, stop!" Adrian wailed dramatically, "we won't argue. Just don't make us watch that."

"Like you can get them to stop now," Rose grumbled. _That was certainly true._

Sonya continued reading without waiting for Lissa and Christian to stop their…._activities. _Even after all these years with them, I feel highly uncomfortable when they are like this. Rose loves to tease me about it.

**We walked down a hall that wasn't dirty exactly but also wasn't anything a royal would have gone near. **

"We all know Adrian wouldn't." Rose said, chuckling.

"He wasn't ready to clean his own apartment," Sydney said, exasperation clear in her tone, "Apparently; those hands won't sully themselves with manual labor."

"Right you are Cupcake." Adrian said, grinning.

_Adrian and his nicknames!_

**A cleaning cart leaned against one wall, as though someone had given up and abandoned it. Sydney suddenly came to a halt in front of a room and handed us a key. I realized she was heading off to a different room.**

"Good choice." Adrian said, smirking, "you shouldn't be alone with a couple."

I ignored his words but Rose replied, "We weren't together then. Besides, Sydney did share a room with us….in the book's future."

"Poor Sydney," Adrian said, his smirk broadening.

Rose and Sydney rolled their eyes while I was still trying to ignore him.

'**We're not all staying together?' I asked.**

'**Hey, if you guys get caught, I don't want to be anywhere near you,' she said, with a smile. I had a feeling she also didn't want to sleep in the same room as 'evil creatures of the night.' **

Sydney grinned at Rose, a hint of cheekiness clear in her eyes. It was amazing to see how comfortable she was with us now, with the so called evil creatures. Rose loved to quote that phrase whenever possible.

'**I'll still be nearby, though. We'll talk in the morning.'**

**This made me realize something else. I eyed Dimitri. 'We're sharing a room?'**

"Ooooh," Jill squealed excitedly, "you both getting a room together?"

She flushed the very next instant.

"It's so romantic," Lissa sighed, "Lovers of the past, torn apart due powerful forces, forced to stay again together, in one room."

"Can a single night change their stories forever?" Jill continued.

"Can they rediscover their love or will they drift apart forever?" Lissa said, caught in the act.

Almost everyone was looking at the sisters in bewilderment. No one said anything and just stared at Lissa and Jill. Adrian broke the silence with a loud guffaw and soon Christian joined him. Eddie was looking at Jill with his mouth open. Abe, Janine and Sonya were looking at the sisters in amusement while Mikhail still looked shocked. Sydney too joined in the laughter. Rose's face was best of all. She stared at Lissa and Jill with wide eyes, spluttering words like 'crazy' and 'hopeless'. I honestly didn't know what to make of the sisters' words so I looked at Sonya and gestured for her to continue reading.

**Sydney shrugged. 'All the better to defend yourselves.'**

**She left us in that abrupt way of hers,**

"Oh, hurry Sonya," Jill gushed.

Sonya smiled but continued in the normal pace.

**and Dimitri and I glanced at each other briefly before heading into the room. **

"NO comments" Rose said suddenly, looking at Lissa and Jill. "Another word about that torn apart-single night-rediscovering love shit and I'll go crazy."

"But Rose…" Lissa whined.

"No Lissa." Rose said, eyes almost pleading, "please?"

Lissa huffed but didn't say anything…._for now._

Roza leaned even closer to me and sighed tiredly. I rubbed her arm and leaned my head against hers.

**Like the rest of the motel, it wasn't fancy, but it would do.**

Janine nodded.

**The carpet was worn but intact, and I appreciated the weak attempt at decorating with a very bad painting of some pears. A small window looked sad. **

"How can a window look sad?" Eddie asked.

"Its Rose's observation, after all," Christian said, "she can imagine windows looking sad or the sun in tears or doors looking cheerful or…"

"We get it," Adrian interrupted him hastily.

Rose didn't reply but I was sure that she was glaring at Christian.

**There was one bed.**

"Ooooh" Jill squealed again

"This gets more and more romantic." Lissa said dreamily.

"We weren't together then, Lissa." I told her, seeing as to how Rose wasn't going to talk.

"Something must have happened," Lissa persisted. "No Dimitri, don't deny it."

I shook my head.

"Something did happen" Rose whispered to me.

I raised my eyebrow, "hm?"

"We kissed, remember?" Roza said softly.

"You mean you kissed me?" I asked, teasing her. I couldn't help but smile.

"Technicalities," Roza waved it off.

"Are you done?" Adrian interrupted us. I hadn't realized that everyone was looking at us though they didn't look like they had heard us. I was sure Lissa and Jill would have squealed had they heard our words.

"Bug off, Adrian." Rose said rudely before gesturing for Sonya to continue. But before Sonya could read, Lissa cooed, "aww. Look at those two. Remembering that night."

"Something must have happened," Jill exclaimed triumphantly.

"Jill, dear." Sonya said kindly, "how about I continue reading? Then you will find out what happened."

Jill flushed, averted her gaze to her lap and nodded. Everyone chuckled and Sonya continued.

**Dimitri locked the bolt and chain on the door **

"Things are getting heated." Adrian said teasingly.

Neither Rose nor I replied.

**and then sat back in the room's lone chair. **

Adrian looked at me curiously. I nodded to the book, smiling.

_Did he really think that Roza and I reconciled that night?_

**It was wooden with a straight back, but he seemed to regard it as the most comfortable thing in the world. **

Christian smirked, "typical."

I just smiled at him, knowing that he was speaking from experience.

**He still wore that perpetually vigilant look of his,**

Lissa, Christian and Rose grinned at me. Among everyone present here, these three were the closest to me and probably knew me best, though Roza was the only one who knew me thoroughly.

**but I could see exhaustion around the edges. **

"Around the edges?" Eddie asked, laughing, "What is he, a sculpture?"

Adrian and Christian laughed. Before Rose could say anything, Sydney retorted, "You know what she means. So keep quiet and let Sonya continue."

"Aye aye, miss Sage." Eddie saluted Sydney who simply rolled her eyes.

**This had been a long night for him too.**

**I sat down on the edge of the bed.**

"Not on his lap?" Christian smirked.

"Chris, shut up." Lissa scolded him, "I really want to know what happened. Don't interrupt."

"Okay, Liss." Christian sighed.

'**What now?'**

'**Now we wait,' he said.**

'**For what?'**

'**For Lissa and the others to clear your name and find out who killed the queen.'**

"That's what you were discussing?" Adrian asked incredulously, "in solitude of a room?"

_This confirmed my suspicion that he expected mine and Roza's reconciliation to have happened that night._

Rose scowled at him, "believe it or not, Adrian. We weren't together then."

"Alright, little dhampir, alright" Adrian said, laughing at Rose's scowl.

I quietly stroked her cheek and her scowl faded. She smiled up at me and automatically I smiled back.

**I expected more explanation, but all I got was silence. **

I had been waiting for her to erupt.

**Disbelief began to build up in me. I'd remained as patient as I could tonight, **

"You had, actually," Janine conceded, looking both amazed and proud. "More patient than usual, that is."

Rose ignored the last part and straightened the collar of her shirt smugly.

Abe grinned at Rose.

**always assuming Dimitri was leading me toward some mysterious mission to help solve the murder. **

"I knew you were expecting that" I told Rose, "So I didn't tell you beforehand."

Rose scowled at me halfheartedly. I chuckled and pulled her closer.

**When he said we were going to wait, surely he didn't mean we were just going to . . . well, wait?**

Everyone laughed.

"What else could he have meant?" Eddie asked, recovering.

"Yeah, he meant wait when he said wait." Christian said, guffawing.

Everyone laughed harder.

Rose looked like she was restraining herself from going and punching Christian. Before she could say or do anything, Lissa asked Sonya to continue. Eagerness shone on her face and it was mirrored on her sister's.

'**What are **_**we **_**going to do?' I demanded. 'How are we going to help them?'**

"Always so eager for action," Janine mumbled.

'**We told you earlier: You can hardly go looking for clues at Court. You need to stay away. You need to stay safe.'**

"Two things Rose can never do," Eddie said wisely, "staying away and staying safe."

_Very true!_

There were murmurs of assent from everyone. Even Rose looked like she agreed.

**My jaw dropped as I gestured around the drab room. 'What, and this is it? This is where you're stashing me?**

Lissa elbowed Christian, effectively ruining his interruption.

**I thought . . . I thought there was something here.**

"Nope," Adrian chirped happily.

"Shut it, Ivashkov." Rose threatened.

"No need for violence, little dhampir"

"Humph"

**Something to help.'**

'**It **_**is **_**helping,' he said, in that damnably calm way of his.**

_Damnably calm? _

Roza smirked at me.

'**Sydney and Abe researched this place and decided it was out of the way enough to avoid detection.'**

**I shot up from the bed. **

Christian, Adrian and Eddie leaned forward in anticipation.

'**Okay, comrade. **

That nickname! It had always annoyed me back at the academy but over time I had grown rather fond of it.

**There's one serious problem here with your logic.**

"A problem with Dimitri's logic?" Adrian asked in fake astonishment.

Sonya ignored him and continued.

**You guys keep acting like me staying out of the way is **_**helping**_**.'**

"You see, Rosie," Christian started, grinning wickedly, "You staying out of the way actually _does help_ people."

"Oh no, Christian," Rose said sweetly, "you must have mistaken me for yourself."

"And _don't_ call me Rosie." She added dangerously.

"I am just telling the truth," Christian said, faking nicety.

"Enough, you two," Lissa said forcefully and Sonya started reading before anyone else could comment.

'**What′s a serious problem is us repeating this conversation over and over. The answers to who murdered Tatiana are at Court, and that's where your friends are. They'll figure this out.'**

"We would have" Lissa said to Rose, "eventually."

"You should have stayed put, little girl." Abe commented disapprovingly.

"Yeah, you could have trusted us to find the murderer," Adrian said gravely, "you shouldn't have risked your life."

Rose breathed out, "Look guys, it's not that I didn't have confidence on you. I did. But I couldn't sit still and not do anything. It was my problem and I had to take care of it. Now, that's cleared right? No more comments on how I should have stayed in that dingy motel?"

Everyone agreed with Rose, thankfully.

Rose still looked a little frustrated. She leaned against me, mumbling about the 'stupid book'. I brushed her hair back and kissed her forehead.

'**I didn't just get in a high-speed chase and jump state lines to hole up in some crappy motel! How long are you planning on 'staying out of the way' here?'**

**Dimitri crossed his arms over his chest.**

"That told me that you were in a stubborn mood," Rose said softly.

"I was in stubborn mood?" I asked her, equally quiet, "you were set on escaping the motel."

"And you were set on keeping me there."

'Okay," I conceded, "we both were being stubborn."

Roza laughed quietly and I smiled, stroking her soft hair.

'**As long as it takes. We have the funds to stay here indefinitely.'**

'**I probably have enough spare change in my pocket to stay here indefinitely! **

Half the people in the room looked frustrated at Rose's words while the other half looked amused.

**But it's not happening. I have to do something. I won't just take the easy way out and sit around.'**

"How did you handle her, Dimitri?" Janine looked at me with wide eyes, "I probably would have punched her had I been in your place."

I just smiled at her but had to stifle a laugh when I heard Roza murmur, "There is no _probably_ in that. She would have punched me."

'**Surviving isn't as easy as you think.'**

'**Oh God,' I groaned. 'You've been hanging out with Abe, haven't you? **

Abe raised his eyebrow.

**You know, when you were a Strigoi, you told me to stay away from him. Maybe you should take your own advice.'**

Rose flinched when she heard that and looked at me sheepishly.

"Its okay, Roza," I said quietly, "I know that you don't have any control over your words when you are angry."

"You really said that?" Christian asked Rose incredulously.

"As Dimitri pointed out, I have no control over my words when I am angry," Rose offered as an explanation.

Lissa giggled and nodded. Christian sighed.

**I regretted the words as soon as they left my lips**

I had seen it in her eyes.

I knew that Rose would never hurt me deliberately.

**and saw in his eyes that I'd inflicted serious damage. **

I had been very touchy on that subject in the weeks following my restoration.

**He might have been acting like the old Dimitri in this escape, but his time as a Strigoi still tormented him.**

I concentrated on the soft strands of Roza's hair rather than looking at anyone. My strigoi past was still a bit of a sore topic.

'**I'm sorry,' I said. 'I didn't mean—'**

"At least you apologized," Janine said.

Roza nodded slightly with her head buried against my chest.

'**We're done discussing this,' he said harshly. 'Lissa says we're staying here, so we're staying here.'**

Lissa smiled ruefully.

**Anger shoved aside my guilt. '**_**That′s **_**why you're doing this? Because Lissa told you to?'**

'**Of course. I swore I'd serve and help her.'**

Lissa looked at me in amusement, "you should have told her the truth."

"When she was in that mood?" I asked skeptically, "And you know I wasn't ready to tell her. Besides, I initially agreed to the plan because you asked me to."

Christian grinned and shook his head, "you were one hell of a star crossed couple."

Both Roza and I laughed in agreement.

**That was when I snapped.**

"I know I would have," Christian said, smirking.

Lissa scowled at him.

**It had been bad enough that when Lissa restored him to a dhampir, Dimitri had thought it was okay to stick around Lissa while spurning me.**

I had thought that pushing her away was the best course of action. I had done it only because I wanted to keep her safe. I had felt that she would be better off without me.

**Despite the fact that **_**I'd **_**been the one who went to Siberia and that **_**I **_**was the one who learned about how Victor's brother Robert knew how to restore Strigoi . . . well, apparently those things didn't matter. Only Lissa wielding the stake had seemed to matter, and Dimitri now held her up as some kind of angelic goddess, one he'd made an archaic, knight-like vow to serve.**

I felt a sense of deep shame and regret on hearing that. When put in that way, I could see how wrong I was. Roza was right. She had done so much for me, to restore me and what had I done? Pushed her away and hurt her time and time again. Hurting her had never been my intention but that didn't make my actions right. Having a good motive didn't make up for the fact that I had hurt my Roza, the very person who had gone to such lengths to restore me. I was carried away by my own guilt and suffering that I had failed to see how much Roza had suffered. All she had wanted was me. She risked her life, her career and had forsaken her best friend so that she could free my soul. What did I give her in return? Just rejection. How could I have been so heartless? How had I not stopped once and considered what Roza must have gone through? True, I had been emotionally wrecked and guilt ridden. The guilt had been so great I had felt as if I would suffocate. And in my pain, I overlooked my Roza's pain, consoling myself that she would soon get over me and move on in her life with Adrian. Was that an appropriate justification?

I cringed internally, imagining how it might have been to be in Roza's place then. You do everything for one person only to have that person ignore you. There couldn't have been anything more torturous, anything more painful. But strong that she was, she bore it all. And she returned back to me, despite the pain and hurt I had caused her, she returned.

"Stop it, Dimitri." Roza whispered, stroking my cheek, "Don't think like that. You did what you felt was right. Don't torture yourself by thinking about the past."

"I was so wrong," I replied, just as softly, "I pushed you away to keep you safe, Roza. I never meant to hurt you."

"I know," she said soothingly, "I know all that, comrade. I love you and I can't see you torn over the past. We are together now. Everything is fine."

I took a deep breath. Roza was here. Everything was fine. I kissed the hand she had placed on my cheek. "Roza, you know I love you. Very much"

"How could you not?" Roza joked, "I am amazing, after all."

I chuckled with her. _She was indeed amazing!_

Really, it was no use thinking about the past. As long as Roza was here, with me, everything would be fine.

Coming out of our own private world, I saw everyone was listening to Lissa talk about some country that she had visited. I caught her eyes and she smiled at me and Rose. I was grateful that she had diverted everyone's attention, allowing me and Roza to talk. After some time of talking and laughing, Sonya started reading again.

'**Forget it,' I said. 'I am **_**not **_**staying here.'**

**I made it to the door in three steps and managed to undo the chain, but in seconds, Dimitri was out of his chair and had thrown me against the wall. **

"Ouch," Adrian and Jill cringed in unison.

Everyone laughed.

"Being thrown against the wall is pretty normal for us dhampirs." Eddie said, smiling.

"Wouldn't want to be you," Christian mumbled.

"Hey!" Rose said indignantly, "Dhampirs are strong. It's you moroi that are weak."

"I am not weak." Abe and Christian protested simultaneously.

Janine rolled her eyes while Lissa and Mikhail laughed.

**Really, that was pretty slow reaction time. **

"That was slow for Dimitri," Rose clarified on seeing Janine's raised eyebrows.

**I would have expected him to stop me before I'd taken two steps.**

"I would have too." Christian said and Eddie nodded.

_Well, I had been very tired._

Just as I thought that, Rose said, "He was tired."

I smiled at her and she grinned.

'**You **_**are **_**staying here,' he said evenly, hands gripping my wrists. 'Whether you like it or not.'**

Abe nodded but refrained from commenting, probably remembering Rose's words from earlier.

**Now, I had a few options. **

"Let's take a look at 'em then," Adrian said cheerfully.

Rose snorted.

**I **_**could **_**stay, of course.**

"Of course," Sydney echoed, "and spared us the visit to the keepers."

"Experiences, Syd." Rose said off-handedly.

"Right," Sydney nodded, grinning, "say that when the Joshua thing is read out."

Both Sydney and I laughed at the sour look on Rose's face.

"We'll find out soon enough," Jill said to Adrian who was about to question us. He nodded.

**I could hang out for days—months, even—in this motel until Lissa cleared my name. That was presuming Lissa could clear my name **

Lissa huffed, "I could. I would have."

Rose gave Lissa a meaningful look and shook her head. Lissa scowled at Rose, making Rose laugh.

I met Christian's eyes and shook my head. We both had no idea what that was about.

**and that I didn't get food poisoning from the DINER diner. **

Everyone chuckled.

**This was the safest option. Also the most boring for me.**

"Safe is boring," Christian declared.

Rose nodded and Lissa narrowed her eyes at both of them.

**Another option was to fight my way through Dimitri. That was neither safe nor easy. **

I smirked at Roza who rolled her eyes.

**It would also be particularly challenging because I'd have to try to fight in such a way that would allow me to escape but wouldn't kill him or cause either of us serious injury. **

"I can't believe you were planning on fighting him," Janine said incredulously.

Lissa sighed, "Here I was waiting for some romance and I get a fight?"

Jill looked like she fully agreed with Lissa.

"Poor you," Rose sang cheekily.

Lissa glared at her but didn't reply.

**Or, I could just throw caution away and not hold back. **

"That's more of your style," Eddie agreed, grinning.

**Hell, the guy had battled Strigoi and half the Court's guardians. He could handle me giving everything I had. We'd certainly shared some pretty rough encounters back at St. Vladimir's. **

"Rough encounters, eh?" Adrian said laughing.

"Not like that," Rose said, sounding frustrated.

"Adrian, shut up." Sydney chastised him.

Surprisingly, he did shut up.

**Would my best be enough for me to escape? Time to find out.**

Almost everyone looked at Sonya eagerly.

**I kneed him in the stomach, which he clearly hadn't expected. **

"I didn't think that you would attack me like that," I confessed, unable to keep myself from smiling.

"Surprised you, didn't I?" Rose asked happily.

I didn't answer.

Rose huffed and elbowed me. I chuckled at her impatience.

**His eyes widened in shock—and a little pain—providing me with an opening to break free of his grip. That opening was only long enough for me to yank out the door's bolt. Before I could reach for the knob, Dimitri had a hold of me again. He gripped me hard and threw me onto the bed stomach first, both pinning me with his weight and preventing my limbs from doing any more surprise kicking. This was always my biggest problem in fights: opponents— usually men—with more strength and weight. **

Janine nodded. But no one interrupted Sonya. They all looked very eager to hear more.

**My speed was my greatest asset in those situations, but being held down made dodging and evasion a non option. Still, every part of me struggled, making it difficult for him to keep me down.**

'**Stop this,' he said in my ear, his lips nearly touching it. 'Be reasonable for once. You can't get past me.'**

I had been very tired that day. All I had wanted was for Rose to listen to me once and not fight me. But Rose being Rose hadn't made it easy for me. But no matter the difficulties, I had been determined to keep Rose in that motel.

**His body was warm and strong against mine,**

I had felt the same way. I had tried hard to ignore the way her body had felt against mine and to concentrate on keeping her there.

"Now we are getting to the juicy parts," Lissa said delightfully.

Roza and I sighed in unison.

**and I promised my own body a stern scolding later. **

"I had no idea that your thoughts are soo amusing, Rose." Lissa said, laughing hard.

"Yeah," Christian agreed, "how often do you scold your body, Rose?"

"Oh, often enough," Rose said nonchalantly, "I do it whenever I feel like strangling you. It's a pity I can't harm a moroi."

Eddie and Adrian laughed harder and Lissa looked like she was trying hard to stop laughing.

_**Quit it**_**, I thought. **_**Focus on getting out of here, not how he feels.**_

I grinned at Rose who narrowed her eyes at me.

'**I'm not the one being unreasonable,' I growled, trying to turn my face toward him.**

"To kiss him?" Jill asked hopefully.

_If only she knew. Well, she'll find out soon enough._

'**You're the one caught up in some noble promise that makes no sense. And I know you don't like to sit out of the action any more than I do. **

"You are one great pair," Janine sighed.

Rose and I smiled at each other.

**Help me. Help me find the murderer and do something useful.' I stopped struggling and pretended our argument had distracted me.**

"Did you honestly think that I couldn't see past your pretense?" I asked Rose curiously.

"Is it wrong to hope so?" Rose countered.

I sighed.

'**I don't like sitting around, but I also don't like rushing into an impossible situation!'**

"The main difference between us," Roza said, nuzzling my neck.

I ran my fingers through her silky locks, "Hmm"

'**Impossible situations are our specialty,' I pointed out. **

"You can say that again," Sydney said, smiling at me and Roza.

**Meanwhile, I tried to assess his hold on me. He hadn't relaxed his grip, but I hoped maybe the conversation was** **distracting him. **

"Not likely," Mikhail commented thoughtfully.

**Normally, Dimitri was too good to lose his focus. **

"Too good, huh?" I asked Roza teasingly.

"Let me listen," Roza said, smirking and avoiding my question.

"Of course, _Roza_," I whispered in her ear and felt her shiver. I smiled at that.

**But I knew he was tired. And maybe, just maybe, he might be a little careless since it was me and not a Strigoi.**

"He has to _more_ carefully because it's you and not a strigoi." Christian said dryly.

"I have to agree, little dhampir," Adrian chuckled, "you are way more dangerous."

Rose smirked mischievously at them.

**Nope.**

**I lashed out abruptly, trying to break away and scramble out from under him. **

"Never give up trying, do you Hathaway?" Eddie asked rhetorically.

"Nope," Rose said brightly, before proclaiming, "Try and try again and rest not till you succeed."

"Your motive exactly," Lissa said, grinning at her best friend who winked at her.

**The best I managed to do was roll myself over before he had a hold of me again, now leaving me back-down on the bed.**

Jill and Lissa breathed in anticipation.

**Being so close to him . . . his face, his lips . . . the warmth of his skin on mine. **

Being so close to her after such a long time had been overwhelming. I had barely been able to concentrate on her words instead I had been too caught up in noticing things about her, her closeness, her scent, her very essence. Yes, _it had been overwhelming._

**Well. It appeared that all I'd accomplished was putting myself at a greater disadvantage.**

"If anything, it was a disadvantage to me." I informed Roza softly.

She scoffed, "yeah, right."

Before I could reply, Sonya started reading.

**He certainly didn't seem to be affected by our bodies' closeness.**

It was my turn to scoff now.

"You really didn't seem affected," Roza told me, almost accusingly.

"Believe me, I was affected," I told her, smiling, "too much for my own good."

She sniffed and said, "You didn't look like that way."

I smiled, "You know I wouldn't have shown that."

She considered it for a moment then smiled beautifully at me. I couldn't help but lean down and peck her on the lips.

**He wore that typical steel resolve of his, and even though it was stupid of me, even though I knew I shouldn't care anymore that he was over me . . . well, I did care.**

"That's natural," Sonya said, smiling at Rose.

"It's so sad," Jill said quietly.

"Aww, poor you." Lissa crooned, "Thinking that he was over you."

"I remember how you thought Christian was over you," Rose said, changing the topic, "both making puppy dog eyes at each other when the other wasn't looking. _Poor you_."

Lissa blushed deeply and Christian muttered something about not making puppy dog eyes.

'**One day,' he said. 'You can't even wait one day?'**

"Rose can't wait one hour let alone one day," Eddie said wryly.

'**Maybe if we'd gone to a nicer hotel. With cable.'**

Abe snorted.

"I doubt you would have waited even in a nicer hotel," Janine said.

"It was a joke," Rose grumbled.

'**This is no time for jokes, Rose.'**

"Exactly," Janine said.

Rose shot her mother one of her best glares.

'**Then let me do something. Anything.'**

'**I. Can't.'**

**Saying the words obviously pained him, and I realized something. I was so mad at him, so furious that he'd try to make me sit around and play it safe. **

"You realized you were mad at him?" Mikhail asked, puzzled.

Rose just shook her head and gestured to the book. I could guess what it was that she had realized.

**But he didn't like any of this either. **

I had guessed right.

**How could I have forgotten how alike we were? **

"How did you forget that?" I asked Roza, only half seriously.

Roza shrugged, "there was a lot on my mind."

"So I see, or rather, hear."

"I realized it, didn't I?" Roza said pointedly.

I couldn't resist teasing her, "Only after a long time,"

"It wasn't long," Roza argued.

"Are you two done?" Christian asked, smirking.

I hadn't realized that our argument hadn't been in whispers but was loud enough for everyone to listen.

"Oh, leave them alone, Christian." Lissa said, beaming, "I think it's cute."

Jill nodded and Rose groaned, "Read, Sonya."

**We both craved action. We both wanted to be useful, to help those we cared about. **

Everyone smiled at us; even Abe had a look of affection on his face.

**It was only his self resolve to help Lissa that was keeping him here with this babysitting job.**

"Babysitting?" Eddie laughed.

"Metaphorically, that was what he was doing." Rose brushed it away.

"Babysitting is a hell of a lot easier than minding Rose," Lissa noted.

"I don't need anyone minding me," Rose replied, scowling, "I am not in kindergarten."

"Are you sure?" Christian asked, smirking.

"Yeah," Rose said, "I am more grown up than you."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"You behave like a kindergarten kid." Christian stated.

"Oh?" Rose exclaimed, "You behave worse than me. Where does that leave you?"

"Stop it," Janine bellowed, "enough of this argument. _Both _of you behave worse than kindergarten kids."

Neither Christian nor Rose uttered a word after that though both continued to glare at each other. I had long since given up trying to stop one of Rose and Christian's arguments. Lissa did try occasionally but usually we let them bicker. It was entertaining to see Roza worked up over nothing. Not to mention Christian and his snark.

**He claimed me rushing back to Court was reckless, but I had a feeling that if he hadn't been the one in charge of me—**

"You accepted that he was in charge of you?" Adrian asked, bewildered.

Rose simply smirked and gestured to the book.

**or, well, **_**thought **_**he was—**

"That's more like you, little dhampir."

**he would have run right back there too.**

I would have. And she knew that very well.

**I studied him, the determined dark eyes and expression softened by the brown hair that had escaped its ponytail holder.**

It's weird to hear yourself being described.

**It hung around his face now, just barely touching mine. **

"This is so romantic," Jill sighed.

"Jill, hush," Lissa told her, "this is getting really interesting."

Rose sighed and shot me a tortured look. I shook my head. _There was no escaping it._

**I could try to break free again but was losing hope of that working. He was too fierce and too set on keeping me safe. I suspected pointing out my suspicion that he wanted to go back to Court too wouldn't do any good.**

"No, it wouldn't have." I confirmed.

Roza mumbled her agreement.

**True or not, he would be expecting me to argue with Rose-logic. **

"The most famous logic of all," Eddie announced, "the Rose logic."

"Don't forget, it's the most effective logic of all." Rose added cheekily.

"Ah, you are quite wrong, little girl," Abe said, studying his interlocked fingers, "mine is the most effective logic."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, old man."

**He was Dimitri, after all. He would be expecting **_**everything**_**.**

"Not everything," I told Roza.

"I know," she sang.

**Well, almost.**

**An idea hit me so fast that I didn't pause to analyze it. **

Sydney smiled, "Have you ever?"

**I just acted.**

"What did you do, Rose?" Janine asked warily.

"You would have found out had you not interrupted." Rose replied.

**My body might be constrained, but my head and neck had just enough freedom to shift up—and kiss him.**

Jill squealed and jumped. Lissa beamed proudly. Everyone else had identical looks of astonishment on their faces.

"Oh my god," Jill exclaimed, bouncing on her couch.

"Wow," Lissa breathed.

"Honestly, guys," Rose said impatiently, "it's just a kiss. It's not like I declared my undying love for him or something."

"You did that?" Jill asked, wide eyed.

Rose groaned loudly. I chuckled at her frustration.

"I can't wait to get to that part," Lissa said excitedly.

"Liss," Christian said patiently, "she was being sarcastic."

"Oh," Lissa visibly deflated, then perked up, "I can't wait for two to get together in the book. At least then, I can hear some love declarations."

I shifted uncomfortably. Rose who had been about to reply to Lissa turned her gaze to me and smiled in amusement. She knew that I wasn't comfortable with our personal affairs being mentioned in public and took a great delight in teasing me.

Once Jill calmed down, Sonya began reading.

**My lips met his, and I learned a few things. **

Huh?

**One was that it was possible to catch him totally by surprise. **

That was what she learned?

"Of course, now I know that very well," Roza whispered to me.

I chuckled. She catches me by surprise regularly. I didn't want to dwell on all those times now, though.

Roza smiled widely, most probably guessing the direction of my thoughts.

**His body froze and locked up, shocked at the sudden turn of events.**

I didn't look at anyone. It was uncomfortable hearing all this in presence of others, especially Abe and Janine. I hope there isn't any sort of detail mentioned in the book.

**I also realized that he was just as good a kisser as I recalled. **

"Oh?" I turned Roza's face to mine.

Roza rolled her eyes.

"I don't think I want to be hearing this," I heard Christian mumble.

"You shouldn't have to," Roza countered, "its private."

"No such luck," Lissa said happily, "we have to read."

"It doesn't have to be compulsory," Roza grumbled.

"Oh yes, it does." Lissa replied, "I want to read and I want you all to read it."

"Queen's orders," she added hastily.

Roza huffed.

**The last time we'd kissed had been when he was Strigoi. **

I'd rather not be reminded of that time. But it was true. And it had been the first thing I thought of when Roza had kissed me. All I had thought about was how different it felt to kiss Roza as a dhampir than as a strigoi. As a strigoi, I had loved kissing Roza but it had been nothing compared to the kiss we had shared in that motel room.

**There had been an eerie sexiness to that, **

"Roza," I said incredulously.

She grinned at me and shrugged, "it's true."

I laughed and kissed her forehead. She snuggled closer. I wrapped my arms more tightly around her. She sighed. I didn't look up to see any of the others.

**but it didn't compare to the heat and energy of being alive. **

"Hmm," I agreed.

Roza smiled.

**His lips were just like I remembered from our time at St. Vladimir's, both soft and hungry at the same time. **

Adrian and Eddie whistled loudly. I ignored it and looked at my Roza.

"Is that so?" I whispered in her ear.

She ducked her head down, almost appearing embarrassed. That was so uncharacteristic of her. I tried to look into her eyes but it was difficult with her trying to push away from me discreetly. I smiled and held her tight. Accidentally I looked up at Lissa who was beaming. I shook my head and looked away. But I couldn't keep the smile from my face.

**Electricity spread through the rest of my body as he kissed me back. **

"I know that feeling." Lissa said dreamily.

"Feeling of kissing Dimitri?" Rose asked, faking a scandalized tone.

Both Lissa and I rolled our eyes at Rose and Christian snorted. Gone was Roza's moment of shyness. It was sweet to see an occasional moment of shyness in the otherwise bold and fiery Rose. Her spontaneity was one of the things I loved most about her.

**It was both comforting and exhilarating.**

Exactly what I had been feeling. It's amazing how in sync our thoughts are. That kiss had felt most comforting and at the same time it had been exhilarating. I had thought about it for days. But I had managed to shove down the feelings it had sparked in me by convincing myself that Roza had just kissed me to distract me, that the kiss hadn't meant anything to her. But now I see that I had been wrong.

**And that was the third thing I discovered. **_**He was kissing me back**_**. **

"Duh," Christian said, rolling his eyes.

"Great, little dhampir," Adrian said, smirking, "first you discovered that you can take Dimitri by surprise, second that he was as good of a kisser as you recalled, then you discovered that he was kissing you back! Isn't the order messed up?"

"She wasn't thinking straight because of the kiss," Lissa defended her best friend.

"Hey, I was thinking straight," Rose exclaimed, "you'll see how straight my thinking was in a minute."

Seeing everyone's puzzled look, Rose gestured to the book.

**Maybe, just maybe, Dimitri wasn't as resolved as he claimed to be.**

"I thought I was," I told Roza softly, "until that kiss."

Rose smiled at me and pecked my cheek.

**Maybe under all that guilt and certainty that he couldn't love again, he still wanted me. **

"I did," I admitted in a whisper, "I just didn't know that."

"Who wouldn't want me?" Roza joked.

I shrugged, "I know I do."

Rose smiled that smile of hers; the one that could bring almost any man down to his knees.

**I would have liked to have found out. But I didn't have the time.**

"Why is that?" Abe asked suspiciously.

I suspected that Abe had already guessed the purpose behind Rose's action.

**Instead, I punched him.**

"What?" Jill exclaimed, horrified.

"Why?" Lissa asked, just as horrified as Jill.

Rose smirked, "you thought I just kissed him for no reason?"

Lissa shrugged, "isn't love enough of a reason?"

"Yeah," Rose agreed, "but I had another purpose behind that kiss."

"You are something else, Rose." Eddie laughed.

Rose just smiled smugly.

"I pity you, Dimitri," Christian said in a mock-kind voice, "because you have to put up with that devil."

"Don't even start, Christian," Rose warned him, "I have been pitying Lissa ever since you entered her life. And besides, Dimitri doesn't mind putting up with me."

I smiled but didn't reply. Christian too didn't reply though he rolled his eyes dramatically.

**It's true: I've punched lots of guys who were kissing me**

I didn't like the thought of my Roza kissing 'lots of guys' but I pushed it aside. She was mine now and had been for the last two years, three if you count the years of being in love.

The sound of laughter brought me out of my musings. Almost everyone was laughing at Rose's statement.

"Proves my point that you are a devil," Christian said with a large smirk.

Rose crossed her arms and glared at him.

**but never one I actually **_**wanted **_**to keep kissing. **

Well, I was glad to hear that.

"I want to do that," Roza murmured seductively in my ear, "now."

"Roza," I breathed, "later."

Rose laughed and nodded.

**Dimitri still had a solid hold on me, but the shock of the kiss had dropped his guard. **

"Your methods of deception are remarkable, Rose." Abe said, "Have you used this particular technique before?"

I looked at Roza questioningly. I could tell she hadn't but you can never be sure with Roza.

"Well….." Roza dragged out the word, teasingly, "of course not."

I smiled.

**My fist broke out and connected with the side of his face. **

Adrian, Sydney, Lissa and Jill cringed.

Christian shook his head.

"That was not nice, Roza." I teased her softly.

"Sorry," Roza sang cheekily, "Shall I make it up to you?"

I smirked, "you have to,"

"Later," she whispered, echoing me.

"I'll look forward to it."

**Without missing a beat, I shoved him off me as hard as I could and leapt away from the bed and toward the door.**

"So that's how you escaped," Sydney murmured thoughtfully.

"Yup," Rose said brightly.

_She sure seemed to be in a happy mood!_

**I heard him scramble to his feet as I threw it open. I shot out of the room and slammed the door shut before I could see what he did next. Not that I needed to. He was coming after me. Without a moment's hesitation, I shoved the abandoned cleaning cart in front of the room's door and sprinted off down the hall.**

"Rose," Janine said, a note of frustration in her voice.

"Yes?" Rose asked, innocently.

Almost everyone in the room snorted in unison at Rose's fake innocence.

**A couple seconds later, the door opened, and I heard a cry of annoyance—as well as a very, very bad word in Russian—as he ran into the cart. **

Adrian and Eddie laughed.

"You are so bad, Rose." Lissa said, laughing.

"Thank you," Rose said primly, sounding like a snobby royal.

"Face of an angel and mind of a devil," Adrian quoted, "that's suits you perfectly, little dhampir."

"That's true," I agreed.

"Thank you." This time, Rose said it elegantly, imitating Lissa.

After the laughter died down, Sonya continued reading the book.

**It would only take him a few moments to push it aside, but that was all**

**I needed. I was down the flight of stairs in a flash and into the meager lobby where a bored desk clerk was reading a book. **

"He isn't going to be bored for long," Eddie predicted.

**He nearly jumped out of his chair when I came tearing through.**

"Tornado Rose," Sydney said, grinning at Rose.

'**There's a guy chasing me!' I called as I headed out the door.**

"God, Rose!" Janine exclaimed, "He could have alerted the police."

"He did," Rose confessed.

"What?" Janine asked, shocked.

"Wait and listen, mom." Rose said impatiently.

**The clerk didn't really look like anyone who would try to stop Dimitri, **

Adrian laughed for no reason. Sonya ignored him.

**and I had a feeling Dimitri wouldn't stop anyway if the guy asked him to. **

"I didn't," I informed Rose.

"Did you knock him away?" Rose asked eagerly.

"No, Rose." I laughed, "I just ignored him."

"Pity," Rose sighed.

**In the most extreme case, the man would call the police. In this town, the POLICE probably consisted of one guy and a dog.**

"Probably," Lissa said speculatively.

Rose, Sydney and I looked at each other and laughed. _If only it had been that simple!_

**Regardless, it was no longer my concern.**

"What happens to me wasn't your concern?" I teased Roza.

"You were coming after me," Rose replied, "You didn't stay behind, did you? So, the arrival of police wouldn't have affected you since you sort of escaped with me."

I laughed at her words.

"So, what happened to me wasn't your concern?" Sydney asked, teasing her again.

"You weren't involved in this mess," Rose answered, "so I figured you would be safe anyway."

Sydney smiled.

**I had escaped the motel and was now in the middle of a sleepy mountain town, its streets cast in shadows. Dimitri might be right behind me, but as I plunged into some woods nearby, I knew it was going to be easy for me to lose him in the darkness.**

"I did find you, though." I reminded Roza.

"Yes, you did, my brave comrade," Roza said laughing, "I love you."

The last part was in a soft whisper. I smiled at her and said, "Love you too."

Roza grinned at me and stood up, pulling me to my feet. "Good night, all"

"Good night,"

"Good night people"

"Bye"

Everyone dispersed for the night. Roza pulled me to the stairs leading to our suites. We went to my suite talking and laughing. The last thought I had that night was that I rather liked that book in my Roza's point of view.

**AN:**** How was it? Good enough? REVIEW and share your thoughts about this chapter :)**

**On a different note, I'm so excited that Richelle Mead is going to write a page of an important event in the first book from Dimitri's point of view! How cool is that?! Finally we get to see what goes inside the mysterious Russian god's head! **** Can't wait! :D**


	13. Reading chapter seven- 1st part

**Hey! ****Happy friendship day, everyone! In the words of Helen Keller, "Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." So, love and cherish your friends! :)**

**As always, thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! :D **

**Also thanks to Namrata! :)**

**This chapter is from Lissa's point of view! Enjoy!**

**LPOV**

A typical Sunday morning would have found Rose, Dimitri, Christian and I relaxing on the rather large patio of our palace. Today however, we were joined by eight others. It had been decided (rather reluctantly on Rose's part) that we would read 'Last Sacrifice' today for a few hours. So, we dragged some love seats and chairs to form a circle around the coffee table.

I felt warm and happy sitting here with my friends while enjoying a cool breeze and a cup of hot chocolate prepared by Dimitri. There is nowhere else I'd rather be at the moment. It felt good to just watch all my friends. Rose and Christian were bickering over something; Jill was watching them in amusement. Dimitri was engaged in a conversation with Eddie while Mikhail, Sonya and Janine were laughing at something Abe said. Sydney was pacing around, taking to someone on the phone.

The arrival of Adrian with the book put an end to the chatter and settled in their seats to listen to the next chapter of the book.

Adrian started reading,** "CHAPTER SEVEN,**

**T****HE PROBLEM WAS, OF COURSE, that I soon lost myself in the darkness.**

_Typical of Rose to not consider that problem first!_

**After living in the wilds of Montana, I was used to how completely the night could swallow you once you stepped away from even the tiniest hint of civilization. I was even used to wandering the twists and turns of dark forests. But the St. Vladimir's terrain had been familiar.**

I can't recall the number of times Rose and I had visited the forests in our academy grounds. We used to go there for secret talks or for parties. I remember being scared of the forests but Rose would assure me that she would keep me safe. And I had full confidence in Rose. So, I never objected to those visits to forests. Over time, I learned to appreciate the silence of the dark forests and looked forward to the visits, but only if Rose was the one accompanying me.

**The woods of West Virginia were new and foreign, and I had completely lost my bearings.**

I saw Janine shake her head at her daughter's plight. Dimitri's expression mirrored Janine's but Abe looked amused. Looking at Abe and Janine together, I suddenly remembered my parents.

_I wonder how they would have reacted on hearing all this. But I will never find out._

I snuggled closer to Christian for comfort and tried not to think of them.

**Once I was pretty sure I'd put enough distance between me and the motel, I paused and looked around. Night insects hummed and sang, **

Christian was about to say something but Adrian continued reading. I wish Christian would stop interrupting the reading with his snarky comments. He just provokes Rose into verbal battle. Both are way too snarky and argumentative!

_Having your boyfriend clashing with your best friend is both stressing and amusing at times!_

**and the oppressive summer humidity hung around me.**

"And someone claims to be not poetic!" Eddie said slyly, looking at Rose.

Rose huffed, "I. AM. NOT."

Christian chuckled, making me laugh as well.

**Peering up through the leafy canopy of trees, I could see a brilliant sky of stars, totally untouched by city lights. **

"See?" Christian asked triumphantly, "you _are_ poetic."

"Oh god!" Rose groaned, "It was observation, sparky. Ever heard of it?"

"Sky of stars untouched by city lights," Christian quoted. "That's not observation. It seems poetic."

"I'll show you poetic," Rose growled, "when I write a poem about your death."

"Enough, Chris" I said, trying to stop the argument. At the same time, Dimitri said, "enough, Roza."

Everyone snickered at the timing.

It was routine for Dimitri and I to stop Rose and Christian's very many arguments. That is why we both commented at the same time. Both of us would let the other two get in a few sentences before stopping them. _It was sort of amusing._

**Feeling like a true wilderness survivor,**

Eddie snorted.

**I studied the stars until I spotted the Big Dipper and figured out which direction was north.**

"Wilderness survivor indeed," Christian mumbled.

I ignored him. He gets worse if encouraged.

**The mountains Sydney had driven us through had been to the east, so I certainly didn't want to go in that direction. It seemed reasonable that if I hiked north, I'd eventually hit an interstate and either hitchhike or walk my way back to civilization. **

"Your plan had a few holes," Janine commented.

"I know," Rose grumbled.

**It wasn't an airtight plan, but it wasn't the worst one I'd ever had, not by a long shot.**

There were murmurs of agreement from everyone.

"At least you had a plan this time," Dimitri said wryly, "you usually jump in without any plan."

"I do not," Rose said, acting incredulous, "I just plan _very _quickly and execute them."

Everyone looked either exasperated or amused.

"Nano second planning," Eddie stated.

"Yup," Rose nodded, "but tons of actions."

Everyone laughed.

**I wasn't really dressed for hiking, but as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I managed to avoid most trees and other obstacles. **

"Avoided most trees?" Adrian asked, pausing to look at Rose, "that means you hit some trees?"

Rose shrugged, "happens when you are wandering in the forest at night."

"And whose fault was that?" Sydney asked, teasing Rose.

"Comrade's," Rose answered solemnly, mischief clear in her eyes, "and yours."

Sydney laughed and Dimitri narrowed his eyes at Rose. Rose grinned at them.

"I would have loved to see you hit trees," Christian said, wistfully, "would be hell lot amusing to see you like a walking around in the forest like a zombie."

"Other than the fact that this event took place in the past," Rose answered coolly, "you couldn't have seen it even if you had been there. Guess why?"

"Why?" Christian asked suspiciously.

"Because it was dark, Dumbo!" Rose exclaimed triumphantly.

"Ha-ha." Christian said sarcastically.

"That's your comeback?" Rose asked, faking shock.

"ENOUGH" Jill shouted.

Everyone turned to look at her incredulously. _Since when did sweet, kind, soft spoken Jill start shouting?_

Jill flushed under everyone's gaze and squeaked, "Well, someone should have stopped them. So, I thought…." She trailed off.

"That's quite alright, _Jilly_-bean." Eddie soothed her.

"Ooooh," I couldn't help but tease them.

"_Jilly-bean_?" Rose teased.

Seeing poor Jill's deep blush, Adrian decided to bail her out of the situation by continuing to read_. Neither Rose nor I were going to let go of this though!_

**Following the tiny road out of town would have been easier—but was also what Dimitri would expect me to do. **

I saw Dimitri whispering something to Rose which made Rose poke her tongue out at him. Dimitri laughed and pulled her closer to whisper something else that made Rose smile happily.

I knew I was smiling widely at the sight of them. They both were so in love that it was too cute to watch!

Christian took one look at me and snorted. I smiled at him too. I got a reluctant smile in return.

**I fell into a steady, subconscious rhythm as I made my way north. I decided it was a good time to check in on Lissa, now that I had time on my hands and no guardians trying to arrest me.**

"You make it sound like checking in on Lissa was entertainment," Abe commented, a small smirk on his lips.

"It was not," Rose defended, "it was for Lissa's safety and to know what was going on at the court."

"If you say so, küzüm,"Abe replied smoothly.

"I do say so," Rose grumbled.

Whatever it was, I was incredibly curious to listen to this part. _What had Rose seen?_

**I slipped into her mind and found her within the depths of the guardians' headquarters, sitting in a hallway lined with chairs. Other Moroi sat nearby, including Christian and Tasha.**

I felt Christian stiffen on hearing Tasha's name. I rubbed his arm, trying to soothe him at least a little. He exhaled, bracing himself to listen to whatever would be read next.

'**They'll question you hard,' Tasha murmured. 'Especially **_**you.**_**' That was to Christian.**

Christian swallowed.

'**You'd be my first choice if something illicitly blew up.'**

"You would be anyone's first suspect if something blew up," Rose said to Christian, trying to diffuse the tension that seemed to have settled in the room after Tasha was brought up. "Especially if it blew up illicitly."

Christian smirked, "what can I say? I'm badass."

"Yeah," Rose agreed, "just remove 'bad' from it and we get the perfect word for you."

That cracked the tension well enough but I could see Christian's pain behind his smirk. It was a lot lesser than it was two years ago but it was still there. I sincerely hope that he would get over in the future. _It hurts to see him in pain!_

**That seemed to be everyone's opinion. **

"Told ya," Rose smirked.

Christian rolled his eyes.

**From the troubled look on her face, I could see Tasha had been as surprised by my escape as I had.**

"It was right there," Christian said softly to Rose, "even I saw that she was troubled. Like you, I thought that she was just surprised."

Rose looked at a loss for words and looked at me pleadingly. Like me, she hated that Christian still felt a deep pain of Tasha's betrayal. Just as I was about to speak, Mikhail remarked, "who knows what she might have done if she was involved in the plan?"

That started off a discussion. I didn't pay any attention to it, instead focusing on Christian, "Chris, Tasha hoodwinked all of us. You have got to move on from her betrayal. I know it's not easy. She was your family. But you've got to understand we are your family as well and none of us want to see you in pain._ I_ can't see you in pain."

"I know, Liss," Christian whispered, "and I'm trying. It's not as bad as before, you know. It will get better."

I nodded, "I'm here for you all the way."

That got a smile, "I know," he said and kissed my hand.

Adrian started reading the moment he realized that our conversation was over.

**Even if my friends hadn't filled her in on the whole story yet, she had probably pieced most things together—at the very least, who was behind it. Christian gave her as charming a smile as he could manage, like a kid trying to dodge being grounded. **

"Glad you thought my smile was charming," Christian smirked deliberately. I was happy to see his snarky side returning.

Rose huffed, "it was as charming as that of a kid…"

"…Trying to dodge trouble," Jill finished, giggling.

Christian waved it aside, "whatever. It was still charming."

"I did think it was charming." I confessed and had the pleasure of getting one of those charming Christian smiles.

Eddie mimed gagging, "enough lovey-dovey stuff."

I frowned._How do Rose and Dimitri manage to converse with each other silently?_

I knew the answer though. They whispered quietly while I said it out loud. _Humph!_

On seeing my disgruntled expression, Rose came to my rescue, "you know all about lovey-dovey stuff, Ed. Calling your girl _Jilly-bean."_

Eddie coughed but others laughed. Jill had her head bent, the breeze ruffling her thick hair.

'**They'll know by now that it wasn't caused by magic,' he said. 'The guardians will have scoured every inch of those statues.' He didn't elaborate, not in public, but Lissa's mind was working along the same lines as his. **

"Great minds think alike," Christian murmured, kissing my forehead.

I smiled happily**.**

**The guardians would know now the explosion hadn't been elemental. And even if my friends were the primary suspects, the authorities would have to wonder—just as I had—how teenagers would get a hold of C4.**

"Teenagers can get a hold of C4 if they know this old mobster," Rose said, teasing her father.

"I am not old, little girl," was Abe's retort.

"How could I forget?" Rose said dramatically, "that you are just in your 30's now."

Abe smirked, "I don't look as old as 30, little girl."

Rose rolled her eyes, "next thing I know you'll claim that you look as old as me."

"Well…" Abe started.

"I don't wasn't to hear it," Rose said hastily.

The rest of us were busy trying to stifle our laughs.

_Abe and Rose's banter was like nothing else!_

Again, I felt a strong longing for my own father. I breathed in deeply, trying not to think about my family. My dead family, that is. My other family was here, with me now.

**Lissa nodded her agreement and rested her hand on Christian's. **

'**We'll be okay.'**

"We will be okay," Christian echoed softly.

I knew he was thinking about Tasha and I was thinking of my dead family. As long as we had each other, it was going to be okay.

**Her thoughts turned to both Dimitri and me,**

Rose waved to me, laughing as she did so. I laughed along with her. She had guessed that I was feeling sad for some reason and was attempting to cheer me up. And I loved her for that!

**wondering if we'd made it out according to the plan. She couldn't focus on finding Tatiana's killer until she knew we were safe.**

"Always so concerned," Christian said proudly.

"Yeah," Rose agreed, "remember how many times she called us in Lenora art festival?"

Rose, Christian and Dimitri laughed at the memory while I was embarrassed at the recollection. My mind went back to the incident as I heard Rose narrating it to the others.

We had visited the Lenora art festival hosted by the Badica family in Manhattan. As a Queen, it was required that I look at all the paintings along with Prince Badica. Christian, who had grown bored of it all, slipped away from the mayhem. Dimitri went with him. Even Rose joined them when her shift was over. I had been too engrossed in the beautiful paintings to notice that Rose had gone away and had been replaced by Jeff or to notice that Christian and Dimitri had slipped away a long time ago. When I finally realized that neither of the three was with me, I panicked and called each of them numerous times. But in loud noise of the fest, they didn't hear their phones ringing. I had been very scared though I tried to maintain my composure in the presence of other royals. Finally, one of my guardians found the three of them and brought them to me. It was only when we reached the palace housing that I released my frustration with them. Even Dimitri hadn't been able to conceal his surprise at my outburst though he had been the first one I forgave because of his sincere apology. But Rose and Christian hadn't even apologized, instead they laughed merrily after they had overcome their initial surprise. Rose even claimed that she had close to fifty missed calls from me! Now, I was too embarrassed at my over reaction and it didn't help that they never let go of that incident.

Rose's narration invited laughter from everyone as expected. Adrian only started reading when I threatened to read the book myself.

**Like me, the breakout had been a hard choice: freeing me put me in more danger than keeping me locked up. Her emotions were keyed up, prickly and a bit wilder than I would have liked. **

It was very strange listening to my emotions being described by Rose.

_**So much spirit**_**, I realized. **_**She's using too much**_

**Back at school, she'd managed it with prescription medication and later through self-control.**

_Just the way I'm managing now._

**But somewhere, as our situations grew increasingly complicated, she'd allowed herself to wield more and more. **

But all the while I had been scared of what effect it would have on Rose.

**Recently, she'd used astonishing amounts, and we'd come to take it for granted. Sooner or later, Lissa's reliance on spirit would catch up with her. **

"With us," I corrected.

The bond had still been intact at that time so I had undoubtedly leaked large amounts of darkness to her. I knew about Rose killing Victor under the effect of darkness. Rose had told me long ago. I still felt guilty about it. It was because of me that Rose had to live with murdering a moroi. But Rose had assured me that she no longer felt guilty about it, for which I was thankful. It wasn't her fault in the least!

**With us.**

Rose looked at me sadly, no doubt feeling helpless that she could no longer help me with the darkness. _Oh, Rose!_

I am glad that the bond is broken, that she no longer has to suffer the darkness. Spirit darkness is my problem only, the way it should have been from the start.

'**Princess?' A door across from Lissa opened, and a guardian peered out. 'We're ready for you.'**

**The guardian stepped aside, and inside the room, Lissa heard a familiar voice say, 'Always a pleasure speaking with you, Hans. We should do it again sometime.'**

"Ibrahim," Janine guessed.

Abe smiled at her.

**Abe then appeared, strutting out with his usual swagger. **

I tried to muffle my laugh. _Rose had described it so well!_

Abe smirked on hearing it, seeing which Rose groaned.

**He stepped past the guardian in the doorway and gave Lissa and the Ozeras a winning, all-is-right-in-the-world grin. **

"You got it just right, little girl." Abe commented superiorly.

Rose didn't bother to reply. She was twirling her mug of hot chocolate in her hands and was occasionally taking a sip, sometimes making Dimitri drink too.

_They looked too cute!_

**Without a word, he strode past them toward the hall's exit.**

**Lissa almost smiled but reined it in, putting on a sober look as she and her companions entered. The door shut behind them, and she found herself facing three guardians seated at a table. One of them I'd seen around but had never met. I think his last name was Steele. **

"He is one of the most senior guardians in the court," Mikhail informed us.

**The other two I knew well. One was Hans Croft, who ran the guardians' operations at Court. **

Rose smirked on hearing the name of Guardian Croft. Janine looked at Rose strictly, Eddie was grinning, Mikhail looked amused and Dimitri looked both exasperated and amused. Rose had told me that she had pulled some prank on Guardian Croft just a few days ago. I had no doubt that these guardians present were remembering Guardian Croft's reaction to it.

My best friend was truly one of a kind, playing pranks on her superiors just because she felt the need to 'spice things up' _(her own words)._

**Beside him—to my astonishment—was Alberta, who was in charge of St. Vladimir's guardians and novices.**

'**Lovely,' growled Hans. 'A whole entourage.' **

"Hans, as charming as ever," Eddie muttered.

Rose agreed wholeheartedly.

**Christian had insisted on being present when Lissa was questioned, and Tasha had insisted on being present with Christian. If Abe had known the interrogation time, he probably would have joined the group too, undoubtedly followed by my mother . . . Hans didn't realize he'd dodged a house party.**

Everyone chuckled.

Sydney was laughing the hardest, "house party?!"

Rose nodded, smiling at her friend's laughter.

**Lissa, Christian, and Tasha sat down opposite the guardians. 'Guardian Petrov,' said Lissa, ignoring Hans's disapproval. 'What are you doing here?'**

**Alberta gave Lissa a small smile but otherwise kept in professional guardian mode.**

"That's what I like about Alberta," Rose declared, eyeing Janine "Even though she is a seasoned guardian, she knows how to smile."

"I know how to smile…." Janine trailed off, realizing that she had risen to the bait.

"Gotcha," Rose said, smiling widely at Janine.

Dimitri gave Rose a chastising look but she just laughed.

'**I was here for the funeral, and Guardian Croft decided he'd like an outside opinion for the investigation.'**

"More like inside opinion," Janine said. Rose and Dimitri nodded in agreement.

'**As well as someone familiar with Hathaway and her, uh, associates,' added Hans.**

"My _associates_," Rose echoed, then smirked, "that sounds so professional. As if I was mastermind of a crime"

Abe said, "Exactly," at the same time that Janine said, "that's nothing to be proud of.

Everyone laughed at the contradiction.

**Hans was the kind of guy who got straight to the point. **

All the guardians present nodded.

**Usually, his attitude bothered me—**

"Everyone's attitude bothers you," Christian told Rose.

Rose scoffed, "if that's true for me, it's doubly true for you."

Christian shrugged in reply.

**that was my normal reaction to most authority figures—**

Dimitri chuckled in agreement.

**but I did respect the way he ran operations here. **

"You do?" Eddie asked Rose, faking shock.

"That's what I said, or rather, thought," Rose replied nonchalantly.

'**This meeting was intended just for **_**you**_**, princess.'**

'**We won't say a word,' said Christian.**

**Lissa nodded and kept her face smooth and polite, even though there was a trembling in her voice. **

"You acted really well," Christian complimented me.

I just smiled at him.

'**I want to help . . . I've been so, I don't know. I'm so stunned about everything that's happened.'**

'**I'm sure,' said Hans, voice dry. **

I had gotten a distinct impression that Hans didn't believe me at all.

'**Where were you when the statues exploded?'**

'**With the funeral procession,' she said. 'I was part of the escort.'**

**Steele had a pile of papers in front of him. 'That's true. There are plenty of witnesses.'**

'**Very convenient. What about **_**afterward**_**?' asked Hans. 'Where did you go when the crowd panicked?'**

'**Back to the Council's building. That's where all the others were meeting up, and I thought it'd be safest.' **

**I couldn't see her face but could feel her trying to look cowed. 'I was afraid when things started going crazy.'**

'**We also have witnesses to support that,' said Steele.**

**Hans drummed his fingers on the table. 'Did you have any prior knowledge about any of this? The explosions? Hathaway's breakout?'**

**Lissa shook her head. 'No! I had no clue. I didn't even know it was possible to get out of the cells. I thought there was too much security.'**

**Hans ignored the dig on his operations. 'You've got that bond thing, right? You didn't pick up anything through that?'**

"I used to wish that the bond worked both ways," I confessed to Rose.

Rose shuddered, "man, am I glad it was not! Liss, my head is not a good place to be in."

"It would have been amusing for sure," I retorted.

Rose just rolled her eyes, "no point in trying to convince you otherwise."

I laughed.

'**I don't read her,' explained Lissa. 'She sees my thoughts but not the other way**

**around.'**

'**That,' said Alberta, speaking up at last, 'is true.'**

**Hans didn't contradict her but still wasn't buying my friends' innocence. 'You realize, if you're caught concealing information—or aiding her—you'll face consequences almost as serious as hers. **_**All **_**of you. Royalty doesn't exempt you from treason.'**

"One of the best things about Hans is that he is unbiased," Janine said, "he doesn't care if you are moroi or dhampir. He just wants to punish the wrong-doer, even if it is a royal moroi at fault."

"I think almost all guardians are like that," Sonya said, looking around at the guardians, "right?"

Dimitri nodded, "most are. But occasionally you do get some guardians who are under the thumbs of the royals."

"Yeah," Mikhail agreed, "But those are very few in number. A vast majority of us do our duty sincerely without discrimination."

"It's something that's grilled into us since childhood," Rose stated, "to do our duty efficiently."

"Yeah but we were also taught to respect moroi," Eddie said, "and that sometimes leads to guardians bowing down to moroi whims."

"And that shouldn't happen." I said at last, after observing what the guardians had to say, "Dhampirs must be brought up with a sense of equality. They should know that they don't have to bow down to moroi."

"But that mindset can also prove detrimental," Janine warned, "a sense of equality might make more dhampirs run away from their jobs."

"So, you are saying that we should always be inferior to moroi?" Rose asked Janine in disbelief.

"Guys," Adrian interrupted us, "this is not a council meeting so let's not get carried away."

"Yeah," Christian agreed, "you can argue about dhampir equality in one of those boring meetings. Then at least it won't be so boring."

Everyone agreed and Adrian continued reading.

**Lissa lowered her gaze, as though his threat had frightened her. 'I just can't believe . .. I just can't believe she'd do this. She was my friend. I thought I knew her. I didn't think she could do any of these things . . . I never thought she'd murder anyone.'**

"That was an Oscar winning performance, Liss." Rose said, winking at me.

I chuckled as Rose, Eddie, Adrian, Christian and Jill clapped.

**If not for the feelings in the bond, I might have taken offense. **

"Hey!" I exclaimed indignantly.

"Hey yourself," Rose replied cheekily.

"Wait for it," she added, seeing that I was about to say something.

I huffed but obeyed.

**I knew the truth, though. She was acting, trying to distance herself from me. It was smart.**

"See?" Rose asked me.

I smiled apologetically. Rose shook head and grinned before leaning back against Dimitri.

'**Really? Because not long ago, you were swearing up and down that she was**

**innocent,' pointed out Hans.**

**Lissa looked back up and widened her eyes. 'I thought she was! But then . . . then I heard about what she did to those guardians in the escape . . .' Her distress wasn't entirely faked this time. She still needed to act like she thought I was guilty, but the news of Meredith's condition had reached her—which truly had shocked her. That made two of us, but at least I now knew Meredith was okay. Hans still looked skeptical at Lissa's change of heart but let it go. **

"Because he had more things lined up for you," Mikhail said simply.

I nodded.

'**What about Belikov? You swore he wasn't a Strigoi anymore, but obviously something went wrong there as well.'**

Dimitri raised an eyebrow.

**Christian stirred beside Lissa. As an advocate for Dimitri, Christian grew as irritated as us at the suspicions and accusations.**

Dimitri smiled at Christian and Christian grinned one of his heart stopping grins. Even though it wasn't directed at me, it made my breath catch.

**Lissa spoke before Christian could say anything.**

'**He's not Strigoi!' Lissa's remorse over me vanished, her old, fierce defense of Dimitri kicking in. **

Christian smiled at me, "you look damn sexy when fierce."

I blushed seeing which Eddie mimed gagging.

Rose exhaled in exasperation, "you are so sickly sweet that I might get diabetes hanging out with you two."

Some looked like they agreed but were too polite to say so. _God, this is so embarrassing! _ But Christian looked like he didn't care less.

**She hadn't expected this line of questioning about him.**

I had gotten angry at the insinuation that Dimitri was a strigoi. Anyone could see that he was not one. He was one of the best guardians around and I was damn proud of him. He was like a brother to me, every bit as much as Andre.

**She'd been preparing herself to defend me and her alibi. Hans seemed pleased at the reaction and watched her closely.**

'**Then how do you explain his involvement?'**

'**It wasn't because he was Strigoi,' said Lissa, forcing her control back. Her heart was pounding rapidly. 'He changed back. There's no Strigoi left.'**

I saw Dimitri wince slightly at the strigoi reference but he visibly relaxed when Rose kissed his cheek.

I can say it a million times and mean it; Rose and Dimitri are the _sweetest_ couple!

Maybe I am biased because these two are the closest to me after Christian but they are perfect for each other! I am glad Rose has found someone as great as Dimitri and she has someone to love and cherish the way I have Christian.

'**But he attacked a number of guardians—on more than one occasion.'**

**It looked like Tasha wanted to interrupt now and defend Dimitri as well, but she visibly bit her lip.**

I was careful not to say it around Christian but I actually hated Tasha. One of the main reasons for the hate is of course her betrayal but I also hated her for shooting Rose and also for being the reason behind Christian's depression. Because of her I almost lost my best friend who I love like a sister. Because of her I had to and still have to watch Christian in pain. _I hate her!_

It was only when Christian squeezed my shoulder was I able to breathe deeply and let go of those dark feeling. With him there, I could defeat this darkness.

**It was remarkable. The Ozeras liked to speak their minds, not always tactfully.**

"True that," Rose stated.

"Look who is talking," Christian returned.

"Rose Hathaway is talking," Rose replied cheekily.

Everyone chuckled at that.

'**It wasn't because he was Strigoi,' Lissa repeated. 'And he didn't kill any of those guardians. Not one. Rose did what she did . . . well, I don't know why. She hated Tatiana, I guess. Everyone knew that. But Dimitri . . . I'm telling you, being Strigoi had nothing to do with this. He helped her because he used to be her teacher. He thought she was in trouble.'**

"That was a flimsy excuse, Lissa." Abe said, "Hans would have caught it as a lie."

"I couldn't think of anything else at that moment." I said truthfully.

Abe nodded and didn't comment.

'**That was pretty extreme for a teacher, particularly one who—before turning Strigoi— was known for being level-headed and rational.'**

Rose whispered something in Dimitri's ear which made him smile.

'**Yeah, but he wasn't thinking rationally because—'**

"- he was in love." Jill continued, smiling.

I agreed with my little sister. It was in moments like these that I could see that she really shared my blood. She loved romance like I did and our fashion sense was identical. We had bonded initially over those topics and grew closer. It still surprises me that I actually like having a younger sister. Rose had predicted that long ago and she was right.

**Lissa cut herself off, suddenly caught in a bad situation. **

Abe tsked.

**Hans seemed to have realized quickly in this conversation that if Lissa was involved with recent events—and I don't think he was certain yet—she would have an airtight alibi. Talking to her, however, had given him the chance to pursue another puzzle in my escape: Dimitri's involvement.**

**Dimitri had sacrificed himself to take the fall, even if it meant others not trusting him again.**

Dimitri has completely gained back everyone's trust and is back in what Rose refers to as "Godly glory."

**Lissa thought she'd made people think his actions were a former teacher's protective instinct, but apparently, not everyone was buying that.**

'**He wasn't thinking rationally because?' prompted Hans, eyes sharp. **

"The eagle eye," Eddie snickered. "He sort of looks like an eagle that has zeroed in on its prey."

There were chuckles from everyone. Even Janine looked amused at the description

**Before the murder, Hans had believed Dimitri truly had become a dhampir again. Something told me he still believed that but sensed there was something big dangling before him. **

Christian laughed, "Dangling before him? A sock, perhaps?"

Rose shrugged, pushing back her smile and gestured for Adrian to continue.

**Lissa stayed silent. She didn't want people thinking Dimitri was Strigoi. She wanted people to believe in her powers to restore the undead.**

Now, they believe in my powers well enough. It was almost embarrassing to be regarded by many as some sort of miracle angel!

**But if Dimitri helping a student didn't seem convincing enough to others, all that mistrust might surface again. Glancing at her interrogators, Lissa suddenly met Alberta's eyes. The older guardian said nothing. She wore that neutral, scrutinizing expression that guardians excelled at. She also had an air of wisdom about her,**

"That she did," Rose said, smiling. Eddie smiled too. I knew they were remembering their instructor or in Rose's case, her mentor for a brief time.

**and Lissa briefly allowed spirit to show her Alberta's aura. It had good, steady colors and energy, and in Alberta's eyes, Lissa swore she could see a message, a knowing glint.**

Everyone other than Rose leaned forward, looking very interested.

_**Tell them**_**, the message seemed to say. **_**It'll create problems—but they won't be as bad as your current ones. **_

Dimitri looked at Rose, faintly surprised. Rose nodded, seeming to answer some silent question.

**Lissa held that gaze, wondering if she was just projecting her ****own thoughts onto Alberta. It didn't matter who'd come up with the idea. Lissa knew it ****was right.**

Abe nodded in agreement.

'**Dimitri helped Rose because . . . because they were involved.'**

"I didn't know that Alberta knew about you both," Janine said in surprise.

"She did," Rose confirmed.

"When did she realize it?" Janine asked her, "Why didn't she report it?"

Rose looked angrily at Janine, "She actually cared about us, mom, to report it. In fact, she said she was sorry about the attack. About Dimitri being turned."

"Roza, calm down." Dimitri told Rose softly. Rose nodded slightly, looking a lot calmer.

"Rose I didn't mean that she should have reported it. I was just surprised." Janine said hesitantly. You could tell that she wasn't used to apologizing.

"Its fine," Rose told her, managing a small smile. Dimitri kissed her forehead.

**As I'd guessed, Alberta wasn't surprised, and she seemed relieved to have the truth out there. Hans and Steele, however, were very surprised. I had only seen Hans shocked a few times.**

"You have managed to shock him plenty of times," Eddie told Rose.

Rose grinned proudly causing both Dimitri and I to sigh.

'**When you say 'involved,' do you mean . . .' He paused to structure his words. 'Do you mean romantically involved?'**

"What else can you mean by 'involved'?" Christian asked in amusement.

"Yeah," Rose chuckled. "You should have seen his face. He was so shocked!"

"I would have loved to see that," Eddie snickered.

Sydney looked from rose to Eddie, "what's so funny in that?"

Rose grinned and Eddie sighed, "See, Sydney. He isn't a man that can be shocked. So it's really funny if he is. Shocked I mean. So….."

"Okay, Eddie." Rose interrupted, "Syd, we are just finding it funny because-"

"_because they are crazy," Adrian finished, "let it go, cupcake**."**

Sydney laughed and Adrian continued reading, not paying attention to Eddie and Rose's indignant protests.

**Lissa nodded, feeling horrible. She'd revealed a big secret here, one she'd sworn she'd keep for me, but I didn't blame her. Not in this situation. Love—I hoped—would defend Dimitri's actions.**

'**He loved her,' said Lissa. 'She loved him. If he helped her escape—'**

"He did help her escape," Janine said.

'**He **_**did **_**help her escape,' interrupted Hans. **

Everyone laughed. Janine smiled.

Rose mumbled something like, "...don't want Hans duplicate as my mother….."

'**He attacked guardians and blew up priceless, centuries-old statues brought over from Europe!'**

"Didn't they wonder how Dimitri escaped his guardians, got hold of C4 and planted it near the statues?" Sydney asked.

"They did wonder, "Abe smirked, "but unfortunately for them, they had no answers to that."

"Then what evidence do they have against Dimitri?" Jill asked curiously.

"Jill, the guardians were fooled by spirit to think that they saw Dimitri free Rose from her cell." Mikhail explained.

"It was read before you arrived, Jill." I clarified.

Jill uttered a soft 'oh' and looked at Adrian in awe, perhaps picking up from his thoughts that he was the one who had fooled them. I remembered what it had been like for rose to know my thoughts even without me voicing them. Even though I missed the bond, I was glad it wasn't there anymore.

**Lissa shrugged. 'Well, like I said. He wasn't acting rationally. He wanted to help her and probably thought she was innocent. He would have done anything for her—**

Rose smiled up at Dimitri who smiled back lovingly. They looked at each others' eyes for a moment, their immense love for each other almost palpable.

"Aw," Jill and I crooned together but to our surprise we were joined by Sydney this time.

Rose sighed and looked at Sydney in fake sadness, "Et tu, Sydney?"

Sydney smiled widely in reply. Adrian smirked and continued.

**and it had nothing to do with Strigoi.'**

'**Love only justifies so much.' Hans clearly wasn't a romantic.**

"Imagine him bringing flowers to his girlfriend and signing romantic songs to her," Eddie laughed, imagining it.

I shuddered. I knew Hans well, of course. Hans in romantic setting was something I couldn't imagine and wouldn't too.

Rose chuckled, "how do you think she'll be?"

"Okay okay, enough," Mikhail interrupted, chuckling, "I don't want to imagine how my boss's girl might be."

Dimitri and Janine agreed. Even though Rose and Eddie said no more, the look of mirth on their faces was a clear indication on just where their thoughts were.

'**She′s underage!' exclaimed Steele. That part hadn't escaped him.**

'**She's eighteen,' corrected Lissa.**

**Hans cut her a look. 'I can do the math, princess. Unless they managed some**

**beautiful, touching romance in the last few weeks—while he was mostly in isolation—**

"No more imaginary scenarios, please." Dimitri warned, looking from Eddie to Rose.

Rose pouted, "You don't even know if that's what I wanted to say."

Christian snorted, "Is that so?"

"Yeah," Rose grumbled, shooting Dimitri a look.

Dimitri looked at her skeptically. Rose huffed and met my eyes. I tried to look at her strictly but she rolled her eyes at me.

**then there were things going on at your school that someone should have reported.'**

**Lissa said nothing, but from the corner of her eye, she could see Tasha and Christian. They were trying to keep their expressions neutral, but it was obvious this news wasn't a surprise to them, no doubt confirming Hans's suspicions that illicit things had been going on.**

"We all know how bad Christian's neutral expression is," Adrian said and continued before Christian could give a smart ass reply. Christian narrowed his eyes at Adrian, grumbling over the missed opportunity.

**I actually hadn't realized Tasha knew about Dimitri and me and felt a little bad. **

_Why?_

Everyone looked at Rose quizzically. Dimitri, however, smiled wryly.

**Had she known that part of his rejection of her had been because of me? And if she knew, how many others did? Christian had probably tipped her off,**

"I hadn't," Christian told Rose and Dimitri, "when I mentioned it, she said that she already knew. She said that your behaviors at the ski trip were obvious."

Dimitri nodded thoughtfully and Rose bit her lip, deep in thought.

Adrian continued reading.

**but something told me more people were probably starting to find out as well. **

**After the school's attack, my reaction had likely been a big clue about my feelings for Dimitri. **

Rose flinched slightly at the mention of the attack. I don't think anyone but Dimitri and I noticed it though. Dimitri pulled her into his arms, comforting her silently.

I leaned into Christian. _Remembering that time still gave me creeps._

**Maybe telling Hans now wasn't so big a deal after all. The secret wouldn't be a secret much longer.**

**Alberta cleared her throat, speaking up at last. 'I think we have more important things to worry about right now than some romance that may or may not have happened.'**

"Right," Sonya agreed.

**Steele gave her an incredulous look and slammed his hand against the table. 'This is pretty serious. Did **_**you **_**know about it?'**

'**All I know is that we're getting distracted from the point here,' she replied, neatly dodging the question. **

"Smooth," Abe said appreciatively.

**Alberta was about twenty years older than Steele, and the tough look she gave him said that he was a child wasting her time. **

Everyone laughed, most of us having known Alberta personally.

'**I thought we were here to figure out if Miss Hathaway had any accomplices, not dredge up the past. So far, the only person we can say for sure that helped her is Belikov, and he did it out of irrational affection. That makes him a fugitive and a fool, not a Strigoi.'**

Dimitri raised an eyebrow, smiling at being branded as fool.

**I'd never thought of my relationship with Dimitri as 'irrational affection,' **

"I did," Janine said.

"So did I," Adrian said, "at first."

"I didn't," Abe contributed.

"Nor did I." I said.

Everyone laughed at the order. Rose turned to Dimitri and said teasingly, "It ain't just affection, _sweetheart_."

Christian, Rose and I laughed at the same time at the look on Dimitri's face. He looked uncomfortable but perhaps we three were the only ones to catch it because everyone was looking at us questioningly. After spending two years with Dimitri as family, Christian and I fared a little better than others in catching Dimitri's expressions when he was not wearing his 'guardian mask' completely.

**but Alberta's point was taken. Something in Hans's and Steele's faces made me think soon the whole world would know about us, **

"Good old gossiping ladies," Eddie said, causing everyone to laugh.

**but that was nothing compared to murder. And if it cleared Dimitri of being a Strigoi, then it meant he'd be imprisoned instead of staked if ever captured. **

"Small blessings," Christian mumbled.

**Small blessings.**

Rose and Christian smirked at each other.

**Lissa's questioning continued a bit longer before the guardians decided she was free and clear of any part in my escape (that they could prove). She did a good job playing surprised and confused the whole time, even mustering a few tears over how she could have so misjudged me. **

"Ouch," Rose said, clutching the fabric of her tank top over her heart, "you really hurt me, Liss."

I rolled my eyes, smiling at her overacting.

**She spun a little bit of compulsion into her act too—**

Sydney sucked in a deep breath. I looked at her guiltily but she wasn't looking at me.

**not enough to brainwash anyone, but enough that Steele's earlier outrage transformed to sympathy.**

**Hans was harder to read, but as my group left, he reminded Tasha and Christian that he would be speaking with each of them later, preferably without an entourage.**

"Thus ends Vasilisa Dragomir's questioning," Adrian stated.

Just then the maid arrived with the refreshments and we decided to take a break.

**AN****:** **How was it? It was strange writing Lissa's POV….hope it was OK!**

** Please REVIEW and let me know what you think about this chapter! :)**


	14. Reading chapter seven- 2nd part

**Hey! Did you all see the Blood Sisters teaser trailer? It's awesome! You have to check it out! Zoey, Danila, Lucy and Dominic rock! Especially Danila! :D**

**Anyway, here is the new chapter….reading chapter seven-part 2. It's in Christian's POV! Enjoy! **

**CPOV**

After a small break, we gathered around to read the book. Adrian still had the book. I didn't know what was more irritating; hearing his voice continuously or listening to this book being read on _Sunday_! Don't get me wrong, I love to listen to Rose's thoughts. It was _god damn amusing_! But I was irritated that Lissa had sacrificed _our_ Sunday to read this book! I could see that Rose was irritated as well. Hell, she was more irritated than me because the book was from her point of view! But we both love Lissa and we agree with her on almost everything so here we are, reading the book on our patio when instead Lissa, Dimitri, Rose and I could have spent our time in our garden like always and then Lissa and I could have some much needed private time!

Adrian cleared his throat loudly and started reading.

**For now, the next person in the hot seat was waiting in the hall: Eddie. **

Eddie snorted and repeated, "hot seat."

Listening to this book made it really clear that mine and Rose's personality is somewhat alike. We both were snarky at best and downright rude at worst! Not that I'm ever going to admit out loud that Rose and I are alike!

**Lissa gave him the same smile she'd give any friend. There was no indication that they were both part of a conspiracy. Eddie nodded in return as he was called to the room for his interrogation. Lissa was anxious for him, but I knew his guardian self-control would make sure he stuck to the story. **

"Guardian self control?" I asked Rose incredulously, "you are a guardian with no self control."

Rose rolled her eyes, "I do have self control."

"Oh, _really_?"

"Yeah, _really_"

Adrian started reading before I could reply, no doubt to stop one of the infamous arguments between me and Rose. I settled for smirking at Rose who mock glared at me.

**He probably wouldn't pull the tears Lissa had,**

The thought of Eddie in tears sent both Adrian and I into fits of laughter. Jill was trying unsuccessfully to smother her giggles. Rose, Lissa and Sydney were grinning and Dimitri was trying to push back a smile at the look on Eddie's face. Poor guy looked he just woke up and saw that someone had burnt his hair in the night!

"He _probably_ wouldn't pull the tears," Adrian echoed, stressing 'probably' and laughing loudly.

"Rose!" Eddie whined, looking at Jill who was hiccupping in laughter. _The guy seriously whined!_

"Sorry, Eddo." Rose replied, not at all sounding sorry. In fact, I was pretty sure that she was very much amused about our reaction to that sentence_. Typical Rose!_

After Adrian calmed down, he started reading again.

**but he'd likely act just as shocked by my 'treason' as she had. Tasha **

I tried to stop my automatic flinch on hearing Tasha's name. It wouldn't do to worry Lissa.

**left Christian and Lissa once they were outside, first warning them to be careful. 'You've gotten out of this so far, but I don't think the guardians have completely cleared you. Especially Hans.'**

'**Hey, I can take care of myself,' said Christian.**

**Tasha rolled her eyes. 'Yes. I see what happens when you're left to your own**

**devices.'**

Had she actually cared about what happened to me? If she did, if she loved me, why did she leave me like this? Living in the shadow of my parents' betrayal was tough but I had managed it with her support. But what am I supposed to do when the person who raised me as a son, who had been my only family till I met Lissa, who I had always looked up to, betrayed me?

I sighed deeply but smiled when Lissa pressed a quick kiss to my temple.

'**Hey, don't get all pissy because we didn't tell you,' he exclaimed. 'We didn't have time, and there were only so many people we could get involved. Besides, you've done your share of crazy plans before.'**

'**True,' Tasha admitted. She was hardly a role model for playing by the rules. **

_She broke all rules by murdering the former queen! _

'**It's just that everything's gotten that much more complicated. Rose is on the run.**

"It became more complicated because her perfect plan of having Rose executed failed," Janine said angrily.

No one knew how to react. The mood had turned solemn and everyone either looked sad or angry.

And me?

I felt both overwhelming sadness and equal amount of anger towards my so called aunt.

**And now Dimitri . . .' She sighed, and I didn't need her to finish to guess her thoughts. There was a profound look of sadness in her eyes, one that made me feel guilty.**

Dimitri smiled sadly at Rose and shook his head slightly. Rose just shrugged in reply.

**Just like the rest of us, Tasha had wanted Dimitri's reputation restored. By freeing the queen's accused assassin, he'd seriously damaged any chance at acceptance.**

"I'm sure she wasn't sad just for that reason," Abe said grimly, "she was sad that she lost her opportunity to make Dimitri hers."

Dimitri flinched and Lissa shuddered. I pressed her closer to me, to soothe her and to soothe the anger boiling in me. Even in my wildest dreams, I hadn't imagined that Tasha would murder someone and blame it on an innocent girl just so that she gets the man she loves. I'm sure that in her heart of hearts Tasha knew that Dimitri would never become hers even if Rose was out of the picture. She knew him well enough to know that he would be destroyed by Rose's death and would never move on from that. And the fact that she knew all that but still went ahead to blame Rose made me angry, _very angry!_

I was brought out of my thoughts when Rose said, "can we please not talk about Tasha and her motives? We are reading this book for fun, not to open up old wounds."

She glanced at both me and Dimitri in worry. Everyone nodded in agreement.

**I **_**really **_**wished he hadn't gotten involved **

Dimitri sighed in exasperation. I chuckled. Rose was quite a handful and almost always succeeds in exasperating Dimitri. But he loves her, bless him!

**and hoped my current escape plan paid off.**

That made me snort.

'**This'll all work out,' said Christian. 'You'll see.' He didn't look so confident as he spoke, **

_Didn't I?_

**and Tasha gave him a small, amused smile.**

'**Just be careful. Please. I don't want to see you in a cell, too.**

"I was the one who had to see her in a cell," I said, hearing sadness in my voice.

Lissa rubbed my arm soothingly and Rose reached over Lissa to squeeze my hand. I smiled at her and breathed in Lissa's scent to calm myself.

**I don't have time for jail visits with everything else going on.' Her amusement faded, and her outspoken activist mode kicked in. 'Our family's being ridiculous, you know. Can you believe they're actually talking about running Esmond for us? Good God. We've already had one tragedy after another around here. At the very least, we should try to salvage something out of this mess.'**

'**I don't think I know Esmond,' said Christian.**

'**Moron,' she said matter-of-factly. 'Him, I mean. Not you. Someone's got to talk sense into our family before they embarrass themselves.'**

Rose glared at Adrian in warning when she saw that he was about to comment something scathing, no doubt.

**Christian grinned. 'And let me guess: you're just the one to do it?'**

'**Of course,' she said, a mischievous gleam in her eye. 'I've already drawn up a list of ideal candidates. Our family just needs some persuasion to see how ideal they are.'**

No one commented. It seems that everyone had agreed with Rose that there would be no more discussion about Tasha. I was grateful to Rose. She knew I couldn't listen to extensive arguments on Tasha's motives. It still hurts!

'**I'd feel bad for them if they weren't still being assholes to us,' Christian remarked, watching his aunt walk away. The stigma of his parents turning Strigoi still lingered after all these years.**

And it doesn't help to have a murderer as an aunt. But, despite all that, I have noticed a steady change in people's behavior towards me. It was largely due to dating the queen, though some people, especially the guardians seem to respect me because of my support for moroi fighting and for my participation in fighting against strigoi with Rose during that horrible attack on the Academy.

**Tasha accepted it more gracefully—despite her complaining—if only to be able to participate in the Ozera family's larger decisions. Christian made no such attempts at civility. It was terrible enough to be treated as less than other Moroi, to be denied guardians and other things royals were entitled to. But from his own family? It was especially harsh. He refused to pretend it was acceptable.**

It wasn't acceptable for me. Still isn't. I refuse to participate in Ozera family's internal politics. Now that I am dating their queen, my family, which had previously slighted me, wanted me in all their functions. _Their attitude is ridiculous and utterly disgusting!_

'**They'll come around eventually,' said Lissa, sounding more optimistic than she felt.**

She was just trying to cheer me up. That's Lissa, always so supportive and caring! I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have her and that I'm lucky enough to find a family in her, Rose and Dimitri. Growing up, I had never known the value of family, of how it was to have people who cared about you, worried for you, shared your joy and sorrows. Of course I had had Tasha but it wasn't like having a full family. And now I do. I love my small family, even Rose though I wasn't planning on telling her that anytime soon!

**Any response of Christian's was swallowed when a new companion fell into step with them: my father. His abrupt appearance startled both of my friends, but I wasn't surprised. He probably knew about Lissa's interrogation and had been skulking outside the building, waiting to talk to her.**

"I wouldn't say I was skulking," Abe retorted.

"Well, I _would_ say you were skulking, old man" Rose countered.

Abe smirked and shook his head.

'**It's nice out,' said Abe amiably, looking around at the trees and flowers as though the three of them were on a nature walk through Court. **

Everyone chuckled at Abe's pretend-pleasantries but Abe looked utterly unruffled.

'**But it's going to be scorching when the sun comes up.'**

**The darkness that was giving me so much trouble in the woods of West Virginia made for pleasant, 'midday' conditions for those on a vampiric schedule. Lissa gave Abe a sidelong glance. With eyes well-tuned to low light, she had no difficulty taking in the brilliant teal dress shirt under his beige sports jacket.**

Abe's dressing sense is ridiculous, really!

Rose and I always have a good laugh at Abe's various wardrobe choices whenever he _graces us with his presence!_

**A blind person could have probably seen him in that color.**

**Lissa scoffed at Abe's faked casualness. It was a habit of his, opening with small talk before moving on to more sinister topics. **

"That's diplomacy," Abe told Rose smugly.

Rose scoffed but didn't reply.

'**You're not here to talk about the weather.'**

That had been one of those rare times when Lissa ignores politeness. Hell, I would say she and Dimitri are like pioneers of politeness. With our snark and sarcasm, Rose and I can be considered devils next to those two.

'**Trying to be civilized, that's all.' He fell silent as a couple of Moroi girls passed them. Once they were well out of ear-shot, he asked in a low voice, 'I assume everything went well at your little meeting?'**

'**Fine,' she said, not bothering to fill him in about 'irrational affection.'**

"Not that I didn't already know about you two," Abe told Rose and Dimitri.

Dimitri just lifted an eyebrow in response but Rose smiled a little sadly. _What was she sad about?_

**She knew all he'd care about was that none of their associates had been implicated.**

Abe nodded, smiling slightly.

'**The guardians have Eddie now,' said Christian. 'And want me later, but I think that'll be it for all of us.'**

**Lissa sighed. 'Honestly, I have a feeling the interrogation was the easy part, compared to what's coming.' She meant figuring out who had really killed Tatiana.**

We had investigated all possibilities, suspecting a wide range of people but all the while the real killer had been someone who we never dreamed of suspecting.

After the whole mess of catching Tasha, I had felt really guilty for being angry on Rose when she had announced that Tasha was the killer in the assembly. Though both Rose and Lissa had assured me that it had been natural on my part to be angry, I knew that I had hurt Rose that day when I stood firmly against her. It had never been my intention to hurt her. I was just defending the woman who I considered as my family.

'**One step at a time,' murmured Abe. 'No point in letting the larger picture overwhelm us. We'll just start at the beginning.'**

'**That's the problem,' said Lissa, kicking irritably at a branch lying across the cobblestone path in front of her.**

Several people looked at Lissa in surprise. They had never seen Lissa irritated before. For the world, Lissa always puts on a calm and collected face, almost never showing her irritation. But that day, Lissa hadn't been bothered with pretenses. It was natural, when her best friend was falsely accused of murder and finding the criminal had fallen on her shoulders. All things considered, Lissa had handled the pressure admirably, as always! _And I loved her for it!_

'**I have no idea **_**where **_**to start. Whoever killed Tatiana did a good job covering their tracks and shifting it all to Rose.'**

'**One step at a time,' repeated Abe.**

**He spoke in that sly tone of his that annoyed me sometimes, but to Lissa today, it was grating. **

Abe smirked, as if the thought of irritating his daughter and her best friend was something to be proud of. Quite honestly, despite two years of knowing him, I'm unable to understand the man. But I could see, in brief glimpses, that he did have a good heart.

**Until now, all of her energy had been focused on getting me out of jail and somewhere safe. That was the goal that had driven her and kept her going in my escape's aftermath.**

**Now, after some of the intensity had faded, the pressure of it all was beginning to crash down on her. Christian put an arm around her shoulders, sensing her dismay. **

Lissa smiled at me thankfully. I pecked her lips and smiled back. _She was my world!_

**He turned to Abe, unusually serious.**

Rose smirked at me and pulled a mock-serious face. I had to laugh at that!

'**Do you have any ideas?' Christian asked Abe. 'We certainly don't have any real evidence.'**

'**We have reasonable assumptions,' Abe replied. 'Like that whoever killed Tatiana would have had access to her private rooms. That's not a long list.'**

'**It′s not short either.' Lissa ticked off people on her fingers. 'The royal guards, her friends and family . . . and that's assuming no one altered the guardians' records of her visitors. And for all we know, some visits were never logged at all. She probably had secret business meetings all the time.'**

"Exactly," Mikhail said, probably remembering how Tasha had been let into Tatiana's chambers by guardian Ethan Moore.

'**Unlikely she'd have business meetings in her bedroom, in her nightgown,' mused Abe. 'Of course, it depends on the type of business, I suppose.'**

Sydney and Jill grimaced at the insinuation. Adrian flinched but didn't pause.

**Lissa stumbled, realization stunning her. 'Ambrose.'**

'**Who?'**

'**He′s a dhampir . . . really good-looking . . . He and Tatiana were, um . . .'**

'**Involved?' said Christian with a smile, echoing the interrogation.**

Adrian's jaw was clenched. Even after two years, he shuddered at the thought of Tatiana and Ambrose together. I knew that Adrian missed his great-aunt terribly, the aunt who was murdered by my aunt. We both had lost our loved ones. While I have no urge to hug him tightly and declare my empathy, I tried as much as possible to be supportive of his decisions. Perhaps Dimitri and I had been one of the first of our group who supported Adrian and Sydney's decision to be together, despite our ingrained revulsion about moroi-human relationships.

**Now Abe came to a stop. Lissa did the same, and his dark eyes met hers. 'I've seen him. Sort of a pool boy type.'**

'**He'd have access to her bedroom,' said Lissa. 'But I just can't—I don't know. I can't see him doing this.'**

"You can't see the bad in anyone," I told Lissa.

"For once, I agree with Christian," Rose said.

I smirked, "that's because I'm right."

"Only in this case."

'**Appearances are deceiving,' said Abe. 'He was terribly interested in Rose back in the courtroom.'**

Almost everyone looked confused.

**More surprise for Lissa. 'What are you talking about?'**

**Abe stroked his chin in an evil-villain sort of way. **

Janine laughed loudly on hearing that. Eddie, Adrian and I joined her_. Evil-villain sort of way?_ Rose's wording was hilarious but true.

Sonya, Mikhail, Lissa, Jill and Dimitri were smiling in amusement. Rose was staring at Abe fixedly, as if trying to figure out something. Following her gaze, I saw Abe looking proud and smirking smugly at being called an evil villain._I give up!_ It's impossible to figure out the workings of Abe's mind!

'**He spoke to her . . . or gave her some signal. I'm not really sure, but there was some kind of interaction between them.'**

There was surprise in some of the faces.

**Clever, watchful Abe. **

Abe smiled widely, "of course, of course."

Rose rolled her eyes and Janine punched Abe's arm. Abe smirked.

**He'd noticed Ambrose giving me the note but hadn't fully realized what had happened.**

"Note?" Jill asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, it was read out in the first chapter," Rose replied.

"It was a note written by late queen Tatiana about the missing Dragomir," Sydney elaborated helpful.

Jill uttered a soft 'oh' and asked Adrian to continue reading.

'**We should talk to him then,' said Christian.**

**Lissa nodded. Conflicting feelings churned inside of her. She was excited by a lead—but upset that it meant kind, gentle Ambrose might be a suspect.**

_Kind, gentle Ambrose, eh?_

Lissa giggled at my raised eyebrow and kissed my cheek, reminding me that she was mine.

'**I'll take care of it,' said Abe breezily.**

**I felt her gaze fall heavily on him. I couldn't see her expression, but I did see Abe take an involuntary step back, the faintest glimmer of surprise in his eyes. Even Christian flinched. **

"Darkness?" Sonya asked.

Lissa shrugged, "I'm not sure. I remember being angry, determined and frustrated. I don't know if it was darkness that fueled all that."

Sonya nodded thoughtfully.

Lissa's darkness was not something I was keen to talk about. To be honest, it scares the hell out of me, knowing that Lissa is susceptible to all its effects that could push her to the edge of insanity. _I might lose her to it!_

Rose often told me that I could help a lot when Lissa is in the grip of spirit darkness, the way Dimitri had helped her deal with the darkness before. I just hope I can be there for Lissa when she needs me.

'**And I'm going to be there when you do,' she said, steel in her voice. 'Do **_**not **_**attempt some crazy torture-style interrogation without me.'**

'**You want to be there for the torture?' asked Abe, recovering.**

"There shouldn't be any," Janine said disapprovingly.

'**There won't be any. **

Janine smiled at Lissa. Rose shook her head, grinning and muttering about how Lissa, and not her, was more suited to be the law-abiding Janine's daughter. Lissa laughed in reply and Janine rolled her eyes.

**We'll talk to Ambrose like civilized people, understand?' She stared hard at him again, and Abe finally shrugged in acquiescence, as though being overpowered by a woman half his age was no big deal.**

Abe crossed his arms, "I don't believe overpowered is the correct word. I _wasn't_ overpowered."

"Yes, you were," Rose shot back.

Abe shook his head, "I just gave in to Lissa's request, that's all."

"More like you _had_ to give in to Lissa's demand."

Lissa interrupted, "um, not to intrude but can we continue reading? Or we have to spend our entire Sunday here."

I knew that Lissa was uncomfortable on hearing about her behavior then and didn't want to dwell on it. Anyway, they listened to her and Adrian continued reading. I squeezed Lissa's shoulder in support as she leaned into me.

'**Fine. We'll do it together.'**

**Lissa was a little suspicious at his willingness, and he must have picked up on that.**

'**We **_**will**_**,' he said, continuing walking. 'This is a good time—well, as good as any time—for an investigation. Court's going to get chaotic as the monarch elections get under way. Everyone here will be busy, and new people will start pouring in.'**

I had never seen the Court so full before.

**A breeze, heavy with humidity, ruffled Lissa's hair. The promise of heat was on it, and she knew Abe would be right about sunrise. It would be worth going to bed early.**

'**When will the elections happen?' she asked.**

'**As soon as they put dear Tatiana to rest. These things move fast. We need our government restored. She'll be buried tomorrow at the church with a ceremony and service, but there'll be no repeat of the procession. They're still too uneasy.'**

**I felt kind of bad that she hadn't received a full queenly funeral in the end, but then, if it meant her true murderer was found, maybe she would have preferred it that way.**

"I am sure she would have," Adrian said in a strained whisper.

I felt both guilty and sad for him. You could see that he loved Tatiana and it was because of my aunt that she is dead.

I sighed and watched Sydney comfort Adrian quietly.

'**Once the burial happens and elections begin,' Abe continued, 'any family who wants to put out a candidate for the crown will do so—and of course they'll want to. You've never seen a monarchial election, have you? It's quite a spectacle. Of course, before the voting occurs, all the candidates will have to be tested.'**

Lissa shuddered, perhaps remembering the tests she had faced while contesting for the throne. But she couldn't speak about that test to anyone. To the day, a charm prevents her from speaking about what she had faced. But Rose knew. She had confessed that she had been in Lissa's head when Lissa was going through the tests. Though their bond had irked me at the first, I had learned to accept it as a part of Lissa. Uncomfortable as I was at the lack of privacy, I had been glad that Rose would always know when Lissa was in danger. The disappearance of the bond had increased my anxiety about Lissa's safety but I trusted Rose with her life. There was no one better suited to guard Lissa than Rose, with or without the bond.

**There was something ominous in the way he said 'tested,' but Lissa's thoughts were elsewhere. Tatiana had been the only queen she'd ever known, and the full impact of a regime change was staggering. 'A new king or queen can affect everything—for better or worse. **

"Definitely for the better," Rose said, referring to Lissa's rule.

There was a chorus of "most definitely" and "of course".

I smiled at Lissa, feeling immensely proud of her. She blushed at the praise and smiled gratefully.

**I hope it's someone good. One of the Ozeras, maybe. One of Tasha's people.' She glanced hopefully at Christian, who could only shrug. 'Or Ariana Szelsky. I like her. Not that it matters who I want,' she added bitterly. 'Seeing as I can't vote.' **

"Yeah yeah, it's all changed," Adrian said hastily, on seeing that Eddie was about to comment.

Eddie rolled his eyes, "what's the rush?"

"I have things to do later today so I want to finish reading this chapter quickly," Adrian said evasively and smiled at Sydney. I could only assume that he was planning on taking her on a date or something.

Jill smiled at the pair of them which confirmed my assumption.

**The Council's votes determined the election's winner, so again, she was locked out of the Moroi legal process.**

'**A lot of work will go into the nominations,' Abe explained, avoiding her last comment. 'Each family will want someone to further their interests but who also has a chance of getting votes from—'**

'**Oomph!'**

"What happened?" Lissa asked anxiously.

Adrian answered her by reading further.

**I was thrust harshly out of the calculating world of Moroi politics and back into the wilds of West Virginia—very painfully so. **

Both Lissa and Jill looked frightened. Others looked intrigued. I caught Dimitri smiling and could guess that he was the reason for the _'oomph'_

**Something solid and fierce slammed me against the hard-packed earth, leaves and branches cutting my face and hands. **

I caught Rose mock-glaring at Dimitri. He looked like he was trying not to laugh.

**Strong hands held me down, and Dimitri's voice spoke in my ear.**

"Oh, it's just Dimitri." Jill breathed out in relief.

Others laughed at her reaction but Lissa looked like she shared Jill's sentiment.

'**You should have just hidden in town,' he said, a little amused. His weight and position allowed me no room to move. 'It would have been the last place I looked. Instead, I knew exactly where you'd go.'**

"Of course you knew," Sonya said softly.

'**Whatever. Don't act so smart,' I said **

I shook my head. Dimitri was smart, no need of acting. _Smart and an utter badass!_

**through gritted teeth, trying to break out of his hold. Goddamn it. He **_**was **_**smart. **

"Thank you, Roza," Dimitri grinned.

Rose turned her face away from him, smiling.

**And once again, the closeness of him was disorienting. Earlier, it had seemed to affect him too, but he'd apparently learned his lesson. **

Dimitri nodded.

'**You made a lucky guess, that's all.'**

'**I don't need luck, Roza. I'll always find you. **

"Aww," Jill and Lissa crooned in unison.

"That is a rather cute thing to say," Sonya acknowledged, smiling in amusement.

"Heard that comrade?" Rose asked teasingly.

Dimitri shrugged, "it's true that I will always find you."

He and Rose smiled at each other. I coughed loudly but stopped when Lissa elbowed me. She loved seeing them all romantic and never failed to rebuke me for interrupting their moments. Well, Rose interrupted ours. And I loved any excuse to wind her up and she was the same! I'm just sad that Dimitri isn't comfortable with PDA. Then, I would have had a lot of material to tease Rose with!

**So, really it's up to you how difficult you want this situation to be.' There was an almost conversational tone to his voice, made all the more ridiculous by the situation we were in. **

Everyone chuckled.

'**We can do this over and over, or you can do the reasonable thing and just stay put with Sydney and me.'**

'**It's not reasonable! It's wasteful.'**

**He was sweating, from the heat and undoubtedly because he'd had to run pretty hard to catch up with me. Adrian**

The said person raised an eyebrow.

**wore a cologne that always made me heady, **

"Ah, thank you, little dhampir," Adrian said, smirking.

"I was actually complimenting your cologne not you." Rose retorted.

Adrian shrugged, "you complimented my choice of cologne."

Rose rolled her eyes but let it go. She had been doing the 'let it go' thing a lot lately, no doubt due to Dimitri's influence. She rarely let go of arguments with me though! I was an exception.

**but the natural scent of Dimitri's warm skin was intoxicating too.**

Dimitri smiled at Rose fondly. Rose blushed a little. I decided to let it go. She would never forgive me if I drew attention to the fact that the badass Rose Hathaway _blushed_!

**It was amazing to me that I could keep noticing these little things—and be attracted to them—even when I was legitimately mad at him for keeping me captive.**

Dimitri was smiling while listening to this. His love for Rose was clear in his eyes. I tried hard to push back my smile. _I didn't want to be caught smiling at their romance! _But it was nice to see them so in love, not that I like mushy gooshy displays. It was just nice to see these two people, who meant a lot to me, being so happy.

**Maybe anger was a turn-on for me.**

Everyone except Abe and Janine laughed. Rose's parents looked uncomfortable.

"You are weird, Rose." I told her, sniggering.

"I think you have told me that one too many times, Chris." Rose mumbled, avoiding everyone's eyes. _She was embarrassed!_

"It can't be said enough times," I retorted. _It's a nice change to see Rose embarrassed over something. She almost never is! _

Rose looked up, no doubt to reply sarcastically but Dimitri cut her off, whispering something to her. She met his eyes in mortification. He chuckled at the look on her face.

"Hey, Dimitri!" I called, "stop that. We don't want Rose to die of embarrassment."

Rose narrowed her eyes at me, all traces of embarrassment gone. She took a peanut from the bowl on the coffee table and chucked it at me. By now, everyone was laughing.

Rose and I looked at each other and laughed. _We sure knew how to entertain a crowd!_

'**How many times do I have to explain the logic behind what we're doing?' he asked in exasperation.**

"Infinity times if it's Rose you are explaining to." Eddie muttered.

I thoroughly agreed with him. It was impossible to make Rose see reason if she sets her mind on not listening to you.

'**Until you give up.' I pushed back against him, trying again to get loose, but all it did was put us closer together. **

"Another kiss?" Jill asked hopefully.

Everyone laughed at her expression and Rose shook her head, faking sadness.

**I had a feeling the kissing trick wouldn't work this time.**

"Definitely not," Dimitri said quietly.

It was a wonder he fell for it the first time. Like Rose said, he expected almost everything. But Rose was in a category of her own when it comes to unpredictability.

**He jerked me to my feet, keeping my arms and hands pinned behind my back. I had a little more room to maneuver than I had on the ground, but not quite enough to break free. Slowly, he began trying to make me walk back toward the direction I'd come from.**

'**I am **_**not **_**letting you and Sydney risk getting in trouble with me. I'll take care of myself, so just let me go!' I said, literally dragging my feet.**

Of course this was the root of Rose's struggles to get free. Other than wanting to help Lissa, Rose hadn't wanted Dimitri or Sydney to suffer because of her. I have always respected that in her. Her selflessness is incredible, even for a guardian. I had accepted that Rose was totally unselfish when it came to Lissa. What I hadn't accepted was how unselfish she was in regard to any of her friends. I can never forget how she left the safety of her dorms to come look for me during the strigoi attack on the academy. She jumped into the danger zone just to ensure that I was safe. She had saved my life more than once, for which I was really grateful!

**Seeing a tall, skinny tree, I stuck one leg out and hooked myself onto the trunk, completely bringing us to a halt.**

Janine and Lissa groaned at Rose's stubbornness. Sydney hit her forehead with her palm. Mikhail was shaking his head and Eddie looked totally exasperated. Abe was smirking at Rose while Adrian and Jill were snickering at everyone's expressions.

Rose looked utterly unconcerned but amused at everyone's reactions.

I caught Dimitri's eye and we both smiled ruefully. _Typical Rose!_

**Dimitri groaned and shifted his grip to get me away from the tree. It almost gave me an escape opportunity, but I didn't even manage two steps before he had a hold of me again.**

Eddie groaned, "Why do you keep trying?"

I looked at him skeptically, "do you even have to ask?"

"No," he replied, "I've known Rose long enough to know her stubbornness."

Rose smirked, "then why did you ask?"

"It was rhetorical." Eddie grumbled.

'**Rose,' he said wearily. 'You can't win.'**

"I feel sorry that you had to go through that, Dimitri." Janine sympathized.

"Thank you," Dimitri replied, smiling. "I sort of feel sorry for me too," he joked.

"Hey," Rose exclaimed indignantly and punched his arm.

Everyone laughed. Dimitri grinned at Rose and kissed her quickly as an apology. She smiled.

'**How's your face feeling?' I asked. **

"You just had to ask that, didn't you?" Sydney asked, looking both exasperated and amused.

"Yup," Rose replied, smiling devilishly.

**I couldn't see any marks in the poor lighting but knew the punch I'd given him would leave a mark tomorrow.**

Lissa flinched slightly.

**It was a shame to damage his face like that, **

All women present looked like they agreed. _Women!_

**but he'd heal, and maybe it would teach him a lesson about messing with Rose Hathaway.**

"If it did teach him that lesson, he wouldn't be here right now." Eddie rationalized.

"Yeah," Adrian agreed, "are you sure you want to teach him a lesson about _messing with Rose Hathaway?" _

Rose rolled her eyes.

"I think Dimitri is one of the few who will never learn that lesson." Sonya teased.

Dimitri and Lissa laughed. Rose looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or be annoyed. I laughed at her. Catching that, she held up another peanut threateningly. I scoffed but didn't say anything.

**Or not.**

Definitely not.

**He began dragging me again. 'I'm seconds away from just tossing you over my shoulder,' he warned.**

He sounded rightfully exasperated. And Rose was the only one who could bring him to that level.

'**I'd like to see you try.'**

"Oh, Rose,"Janine sighed, "I am actually feeling tired listening to your stubbornness."

"No," Rose disagreed, smirking. "You are tired because your age is catching up with you, mom."

Janine laughed good-naturedly.

When I first met Janine during the winter break three years ago in St. Vladimir's, she had struck me as an uptight and stern guardian. She still was all that but she was a lot more relaxed around us now. I'm sure it had something to do with the improvement in her relationship with Rose. She meets Rose often and as a result I see a lot of her. I can surely tell that Janine Hathaway is a changed woman now.

'**How do you think Lissa would feel if you got killed?' **

"Good thinking, Dimitri," I praised my guardian, "you can get her to agree on almost everything if you mention Lissa."

"Yeah," Dimitri agreed, "that's why I said that. But her reply was not what I expected."

I looked at him questioningly and he nodded to the book.

**His grip tightened, and while I had a feeling he'd make good on his over-the-shoulder threat,**

I knew he would. Dimitri was a man of his word. If he says something, he means it. It's hard to find such chivalrous people. Dimitri was one of those rare cases that are good-hearted, brave, fearless and true gentlemen. I was very lucky to have him as my guardian. I had always respected him and I had confessed to Rose back at the academy that I would trust whatever he says.

Besides being a good guardian, he was an amazing friend. I had never dreamed that I would establish such good rapport with him. He was always there for me whenever I needed help or advice. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better guy for Rose.

**I also suspected he wanted to shake me. He was that upset. **

"Anyone would have been in his position," Mikhail said truthfully.

Dimitri nodded and said, "It wasn't just her stubbornness though. I was more upset about her penchant for throwing herself in danger. She never thinks about danger when she wants to help someone. She jumps right in without caring about her life."

Lissa nodded, "that's the worst part."

Rose huffed, "I do what I think is right. I can't think about myself at that time."

"That's the scary part," Janine mumbled.

I nodded. Rose's reckless tendency was a constant worry to all of us. Of course she wasn't as reckless as she had been but she still had no sense of self preservation when it came to her loved ones.

'**Can you imagine what it would do to her if she lost you?'**

"I would have lost my mind," Lissa whispered sadly.

I flinched and pulled her to me. _That thought was unbearable!_

**For a moment, I was out of snappy retorts. I didn't want to die, but risking my life was exactly that: risking **_**my **_**life. No one else's. Still, I knew he was right. Lissa would be devastated if anything happened to me. **

Lissa would be completely devastated for sure. And Dimitri…..God, his reaction when Rose had almost died was enough of an indication that he wouldn't survive if something happened to Rose. And I'm not sure I would hold all that much better than those two.

**And yet . . . it was a risk I had to take.**

"I have to take," Rose amended softly.

Being her fellow guardians, Mikhail and Eddie nodded. Their situations were similar. But Dimitri and Janine looked grim, no doubt stuck between guardian principles and love for Rose. They couldn't and wouldn't forbid Rose from taking risks. It was her job. But that didn't mean they liked the thought of Rose in danger.

'**Have a little faith, comrade. I won't get killed,' I said stubbornly. 'I'll stay alive.'**

"Stubborn through and through," Abe muttered.

"Wonder where I got that from," Rose retorted sarcastically, glancing at her parents.

Everyone smiled, breaking the grim air that seemed to have settled around us.

**Not the answer he'd wanted.**

Dimitri smiled in agreement.

**He shifted his hold. 'There are other ways to help her than whatever insanity you're thinking of.'**

**I suddenly went limp. **

Lissa and Jill looked alarmed, expecting the worst. I chuckled at their behavior.

**Dimitri stumbled, caught by surprise at my sudden lack of resistance. 'What's wrong?' he asked, both puzzled and suspicious.**

Rose smiled at Dimitri, "just a realization moment, comrade."

Dimitri returned the smile, "Who is to say that the realization is necessarily a good one?"

"It was!"

"If you say so Roza," Dimitri said, chuckling and kissing her forehead.

**I stared off into the night, my eyes not really focused on anything. Instead, I was seeing Lissa and Abe back at Court, remembering Lissa's feeling of powerlessness and longing for her vote. Tatiana's note came back to me, and for a moment, I could hear her voice in my head. **_**She is not the last Dragomir. Another lives.**_

"This is when you decided to search for Jill?" Lissa asked.

"The other Dragomir," Rose stated, smiling at Jill, "yes."

'**You′re right,' I said at last.**

'**Right about . . . ?' Dimitri was at a total loss. It was a common reaction for people when I agreed to something reasonable.**

Everyone laughed in agreement.

"You agreeing to something reasonable happens once in a millennium," I joked, "of course people get a shock when it happens."

Rose smirked.

'**Rushing back to Court won't help Lissa.'**

**Silence. **

**I couldn't fully make out his expression, but it was probably filled with shock.**

'**I'll go back to the motel with you, and I won't go running off to Court.' **

"Finally she agrees," Janine said in relief.

**Another Dragomir. Another Dragomir needing to be found. **

"And you had to do the finding," Eddie added.

**I took a deep breath. 'But I'm not going to sit around and do nothing. I **_**am **_**going to do something for Lissa—and you and Sydney are going to help me.'**

Sydney grinned, "Not that we had any choice."

"For the greater good, Syd." Rose replied.

"Alright," Adrian said, standing up and pulling Sydney to her feet, "bye everyone. Got to go."

Everyone soon followed him and Sydney. I sat back in my chair and relaxed to the sounds of Rose and Lissa talking and rustling of pages of Dimitri's western novel.

**AN****: How was it? I tried to show Christian's softer side which he conceals from almost everyone! Hope I did justice to it. Please ****REVIEW**** and let me know! :)**

**On a different note, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY to all my fellow Indians out there! :)**


	15. Reading chapter eight- 1st part

**Hey! I'm soo sorry for the late update. Really sorry! :(**

**Thanks a lot to all the people who reviewed, followed and favorited this story! It's because of you all that I feel like writing at least a bit of this story after a hectic day! Thanks for the support! :)**

**Here is the next chapter is Rose's POV. Enjoy! **

**Oh, and I don't own VA.**

I set my cup of chai on the windowsill, looking out at the lake situated at the back of the palace. The lake looked beautiful and serene, reflecting the moonlight. It was a day meant for being outdoors. And outdoors was where I had to go to join my family and friends. I could see them sitting on some blankets by the lake side. Plenty of cushions were strewn on the blankets and everyone seems to be relaxing. It had been nearly a week since we last read the book and Lissa had decided that today was the perfect day to continue reading. The author's identity and how they had managed to access my innermost thoughts was still troubling me but it was pushed to the back of my mind now. There were greater problems that required my immediate attention, like the rumor going around that a strigoi group had occupied one of the old warehouses in the outskirts of the town, possibly planning an attack on the Court. But there was nothing to be done till more information was obtained.

I sighed and splashed water on my face. I left my phone in the kitchen and made my way out to the lakeside to join my friends.

Flopping down on the blanket beside Dimitri, I decided to worry about stuff later and concentrate on the Now. And honestly, I couldn't worry about anything when Dimitri was smiling down at me. I grinned and kissed him quickly.

As soon as I was seated, Mom, who had the book, started reading,** "chapter eight.**

**I****T TURNED OUT I WAS wrong **

"_You_ were wrong?" Eddie asked, faking astonishment.

I rolled my eyes at him.

**about the local police department comprising of one guy and a dog. When Dimitri and I walked back to the motel, we saw flashing red and blue lights in the parking lot **

"Uh-oh," Lissa said, "sounds like trouble."

'Trouble' reminded me of that Taylor swift's song that Lissa keeps listening to. I sang it under my breath, _"I knew you were trouble when you walked in…"_

Dimitri looked at me and raised an eyebrow, apparently wondering what was wrong with me. I grinned at him but stopped singing…..mainly because I didn't know it any further.

**and a few bystanders trying to see what was happening.**

'**The whole town turned out,' I said.**

"Just police and a few bystanders make a whole town?" Adrian questioned.

I shrugged, "that town was tiny."

Dimitri and Sydney glanced at each other and sighed.

**Dimitri sighed. 'You just had to say something to the desk clerk, didn't you?'**

**We'd stopped some distance away, hidden in the shadow of a run-down building. **

'**I thought it would slow you down.'**

'**It's going to slow us down now.' His eyes did a sweep of the scene, taking in all the details in the flickering light. 'Sydney's car is gone. That's something, at least.'**

"You left them there?" Adrian asked Sydney in surprise.

"No." Sydney replied shortly, frowning at him.

_I guess she is miffed that Adrian thought the worst of her!_

Apparently Adrian guessed the direction of her thoughts because he pulled her close and started whispering something in her ear. Sydney didn't relent but I could see her trying not to smile.

**My earlier cockiness faded. 'Is it? We just lost our ride!'**

"Thanks for the faith, Rose," Sydney said wryly.

"No problem," I replied, grinning and ignoring the sarcasm.

Sydney's lips twitched but she fought the smile. I sighed.

'**She wouldn't leave us, but she was smart enough to get out before the police came knocking on her door.' **

"Finally someone who believes in me," Sydney exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

"Are you alright?" I asked her cautiously. She wasn't behaving like her normal self.

"Of course I am," she assured me.

_Sydney sure had loosened up a lot since dating Adrian!_

**He turned and surveyed the town's one main road. 'Come on. She has to be close, and there's a good chance the police might actually start searching around if they thought some defenseless girl was being chased down.' **

"Defenseless?" Eddie snorted.

"You are the furthest thing from being defenseless," Adrian added.

Everyone looked like they agreed with him.

I smirked. _I am an utter badass!_

**The tone he used for 'defenseless' spoke legions.**

"I can imagine that," Christian laughed. Everyone laughed with him.

**Dimitri made an executive decision**

"The Lissa effect," Adrian joked, referring to my use of heavy words _'executive decision.'_

Lissa and I looked at each other and laughed.

**to walk back toward the road that had led us into town, assuming Sydney would want to get out of there now that I'd blown our cover. **

Sydney nodded.

**Getting the police involved had created complications, **

"And you are known to create complications." Christian said, shaking his head.

"You can say that again," Dimitri said, smiling at me fondly.

I grinned and snuggled closer to him.

**but I felt little regret over what I'd done. **

Lissa sighed, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Um…," I pretended to think, "Maybe because you know me that well?"

"I most certainly do."

**I was excited about the plan that had occurred to me in the woods and wanted, as usual, to get moving on it right away.**

"Typical of you, little girl." Abe commented.

**If I'd helped get us out of this hole of a town, so much the better.**

"Hole of a town?" Sydney echoed, then sighed, "I am not even going to comment on that."

"You just did," I replied, ever the smartass.

Christian seemed to think that way too because he said, "Smartass."

I inclined my head in acknowledgement, grinning widely.

**Dimitri's instincts about Sydney were right. **

Adrian looked at Dimitri quizzically. Dimitri wasn't looking at Adrian. I tried to raise my eyebrow at Adrian when he looked at me but couldn't. Adrian smiled but didn't reply. But the look of concentration on Adrian's face made me think that he was seeing Dimitri's aura.

**About a half-mile outside of town, we spotted a CR-V pulled off on the road's shoulder. The engine was off, the lights dark, but I could see well enough to identify the Louisiana plates. I walked over to the driver side window and knocked on the glass. Inside, Sydney flinched. **

"did I scare you?" I asked Sydney teasingly.

"No," Sydney said defensively, "you just knocked on the glass pretty hard."

"Rose is known for being rather loud," Christian informed her sympathetically.

"Hey," I protested.

Everyone chuckled and Christian smirked at me.

**She rolled down the window, face incredulous.**

"I just couldn't believe that you would do something as stupid as alerting the police," Sydney told me.

_Well, it wasn't stupid in my book. _

'**What did you do? Never mind. Don't bother. Just get in.'**

"Uh-oh," Adrian sang, "looks like someone was pissed off."

Sydney ignored him.

**Dimitri and I complied. I felt like a naughty child under her disapproving glare. **

Everyone laughed.

"You are great, Sydney!" Lissa exclaimed, controlling her laugh, "I doubt anyone has ever made Rose feel that way. I certainly have not."

Sydney laughed and disagreed, "You don't know that."

"Oh, I do." Lissa told her, "if I was capable of making Rose feel that way then she wouldn't have done half the stuff she did back at the academy."

Eddie snorted, "Don't be too sure. She might have felt like a naughty kid but she certainly didn't feel any regret over it."

"Damn right I didn't," I said, frowning, "I still feel that what I did was right and required. I had to escape the motel. And because of it I came up with a plan to find Jill. So, nope. No regrets."

"When you put it that way…..." Jill trialed off**. **

Mom started reading before anyone else could comment.

**She started the car without a word and began driving in the direction we'd originally come from, eventually merging with the small state highway that led back to the interstate. That was promising. Only, once we'd driven a few miles, she pulled off again, this time at a dark exit that didn't seem to have anything at it. She turned off the car and turned to peer at me in the backseat. **

"Here comes the reprimand!" Eddie cheered.

I glared at him.

'**You ran, didn't you?'**

"Of course she did." Adrian sang happily.

'**Yeah, but I got this—'**

**Sydney held up a hand to silence me. **

"I would have loved to see the badass Rose getting scolded," Jill said, grinning

I rolled my eyes at her.

'**No, don't. Not yet. I wish you could have pulled off your daring escape without attracting the authorities.'**

'**Me too,' said Dimitri.**

**I scowled at them both. 'Hey, I came back, didn't I?'**

"You make it sound as if you went back voluntarily," Christian noted.

**Dimitri arched an eyebrow at that, apparently questioning just how voluntary that had been. **

"It was sort of voluntary," I said, "I mean, once I decided to find the last Dragomir I did come voluntarily."

"Once you decided to find Jill, yes." Dimitri replied, "But before that?"

I shrugged, not at all feeling guilty for trying to escape from Dimitri's clutches. If I hadn't been set on escaping the motel, I would never have decided to find Jill myself. _Not to mention that I wouldn't have gotten to kiss Dimitri for the first time since his restoration, in that motel room!_

'**And now I know what we have to do to help Lissa.'**

'**What we have to do,' said Sydney, 'is find a safe place to stay.'**

"That's a sensible plan," Mom praised Sydney, "which is more than I can say from someone else's plan. Or lack thereof." The last part was to me.

"As I said, no regrets," was my reply.

'**Just go back to civilization and pick a hotel. One with room service. We can make that our base of operation while we work on the next plan.'**

'**We researched that town specifically!' she said. **

Abe nodded.

'**We can't go to some random place—at least not nearby. I doubt they took down my plates, but they could put out a call to look for this kind of car. If they've got that and our descriptions, and it gets to the state police, it'll get to the Alchemists and then it'll—'**

"Whoa, Sage," Adrian exhaled. "Slow down."

"And calm down," Eddie added.

'**Calm down,' said Dimitri, **

Eddie grinned at Dimitri.

**touching her arm. There was nothing intimate about that, **

Dimitri looked puzzled, wondering where my thoughts had been leading to at that time.

**but I still felt a spark of envy,**

Dimitri arched an eyebrow, looking at me questioningly. Sydney looked incredulous and Adrian was smirking. Lissa, however, looked understanding.

I motioned for mom to read rather than explain it myself_. It was sort of embarrassing that everyone now knew that I had felt jealous of Sydney for no reason! _

But being me, I didn't allow any trace of my embarrassment to be seen in my face. While I felt I had done a pretty good job at appearing nonchalant, the smirk on Dimitri's face told me that I was not successful…._at least where he was concerned!_

**particularly after the tough love I'd just had being nearly dragged through the woods. **

Everyone laughed in agreement. Thankfully no one commented about me feeling envious of Sydney!

'**We don't know that any of that's going to happen. Why don't you just call Abe?'**

"You really should have called me," Abe said smoothly, looking at Sydney calmly. There was no anger in his voice but his tone contained a hidden danger.

Sydney averted her eyes while I glared at old man. _There was no need to intimidate the poor girl!_

'**Yeah,' she said glumly. 'That's exactly what I want. To tell him I messed up the plan in less than twenty-four hours.'**

"You didn't mess up the plan," Eddie told Sydney, "Rose did."

"Thanks, Eddie." I said, smirking. "That's what I do best, you know. Messing up plans."

"Yeah," Christian said, smirking right back, "she herself doesn't plan anything but she is rather good at messing up others' carefully constructed plans."

"Don't act as if you have never helped help me mess up people's plans." I accused him.

He smirked and shrugged.

"Mainly my plans," Lissa grumbled.

Christian, Dimitri and I laughed, remembering the time when Christian and I had messed up her schedule and made it seem as if she had a day off instead of attending a meeting. Christian had been complaining that he rarely got to spend time with Lissa. I had taken pity on him and decided to help him out by hoodwinking Lissa. It gave both Dimitri and I a day off to spend together while Christian and Lissa enjoyed their day. Lissa had been furious with us when she found out the truth but she couldn't stay mad at either Christian or I for a long time!

'**Well,' I said, 'if it makes you feel better, the plan's about to change anyway—'**

'**Be quiet,' she snapped. 'Both of you. I need to think.'**

Adrian, Eddie and Jill raised their eyebrows, puzzling over Sydney's out of character behavior. _Sydney really wasn't one to snap at people!_ _Snapping was and is my humble forte!_

**Dimitri and I exchanged glances, but stayed silent. When I'd told him I knew a way to seriously help Lissa, he'd been intrigued. I knew he wanted details now, **

Lissa and Sonya smiled in amusement over the fact that I had stated Dimitri's feelings with absolute certainty. This was one of the very many times I had done that. I guess this book was revealing to others the actual depth of mine and Dimitri's relationship!

I smiled at Lissa and Sonya before giving Dimitri a kiss on the cheek. He looked surprised for a second but smiled when my eyes met his.

**but we both had to wait for Sydney. She flipped on the dome light and produced a paper map of the state. After studying it for a minute, she folded it back up and simply stared ahead. I couldn't see her face but suspected she was frowning. Finally, she sighed in that woeful way of hers, **

Adrian chuckled.

**turned off the light, and started the car. I watched as she punched in **_**Altswood, West Virginia **_**into her GPS.**

"What's in Altswood?" Abe asked Sydney.

"You'll see," mom answered him shortly before continuing to read.

'**What's in Altswood?' I asked, **

Mom laughed as she read that. I rolled my eyes at her and Abe smirked.

**disappointed she hadn't entered something like **_**Atlantic City**_**.**

Everyone laughed while mom and Dimitri sighed exasperatedly. I grinned and leaned closer to Dimitri to whisper, "I am sure you have sighed in exasperation at least a million times already since we started reading this damn book."

Dimitri shook his head and smiled, "I can't help it, Roza."

"I should be offended," I mused, "but instead I'm amused."

He chuckled and kissed my forehead.

'**Nothing,' she said, pulling back onto the road. 'But it's the closest place to where we're going that the GPS can find.'**

Abe looked intrigued. I knew he didn't appreciate being kept in the dark. _It would do him some good to be out of the loop sometimes!_

**A passing car's headlights briefly illuminated Dimitri's profile, and I saw curiosity on his face too. So. I wasn't the only one out of the loop anymore. **

"You sound so smug over that," Dimitri noted.

"I was." I confessed, "I was happy that I wasn't the only one in the dark."

Dimitri laughed, making me laugh too.

**The GPS read almost an hour and a half to our destination. He didn't question her choice, though, and turned back to me.**

'**So what's going on with Lissa? What's this great plan of yours?' He glanced at**

**Sydney. 'Rose says there's something important we have to do.'**

'**So I gathered,' said Sydney dryly. Dimitri looked back at me expectantly.**

**I took a deep breath. It was time to reveal the secret I'd been holding since my hearing. 'So, it, um, turns out Lissa has a brother or sister. And I think we should find them.'**

"You sound so casual," Lissa observed.

"That's the way the bomb must be dropped," I replied, in a matter of fact tone.

Lissa giggled.

**I managed to sound cool and casual as I spoke. Inside me, my heart lurched. Even though I'd had plenty of time to process Tatiana's note, saying the words out loud made them **_**real **_**in a way they hadn't been before. It shocked me, hitting me with the full impact of what this information truly meant and how it changed everything we'd all come to believe.**

Everyone nodded somberly.

**Of course, my shock was nothing compared to the others'. Score one for Rose and the element of surprise. **

I could hear snorts from all directions.

**Sydney made no attempt to hide her astonishment and gasped. Even Dimitri seemed a little taken aback.**

"Just a little?" Adrian asked.

Before Dimitri or I could reply, Lissa stated, "he is Dimitri," as if it was the explanation. I remember that sentence had come up in one of the previous chapters.

"He expects almost everything," Christian continued Lissa's statement.

Adrian laughed while Dimitri smiled at Lissa and Christian.

**Once they recovered, I could see them preparing their protests. They would either demand evidence or simply dismiss the idea as ridiculous.**

"Well, that's natural," Abe said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

**I immediately jumped into action before the arguments could start. **

"Go Rose!" Jill exclaimed, jokingly.

**I produced Tatiana's note, reading it aloud and then letting Dimitri look at it. I told them about my ghostly encounter, where the queen's troubled spirit made me believe there was truth to this. **

"That did not convince me in the least," Sydney informed me.

"Don't I know it," I muttered.

**Nonetheless, my companions were skeptical.**

"You people have so much faith in me," I gushed sarcastically.

Sydney laughed.

Dimitri smiled and said, "It was not a matter of faith in you, Rose. You know I wouldn't believe it without proper proof."

"I know," I said to him and gestured for mom to continue.

'**You have no proof Tatiana wrote the note,' said Dimitri.**

'**The Alchemists have no records of another Dragomir,' said Sydney.**

"That's why it was _top secret_." Abe declared.

Mom ignored him.

**They each said exactly what I thought they would. Dimitri was the kind of guy always ready for a trick or trap. He suspected anything without hard proof. **

That he did. It was a mark of a good guardian. We were taught to be suspicious of anything and everything until we get solid proof.

**Sydney lived in a world of facts and data and had total faith in the Alchemists and their information. If the Alchemists didn't believe it, neither did she. **

"Sage, I can't believe you were like this before," Adrian said, shaking his head.

Sydney shrugged, "that's how all alchemists are."

"Arrogant creatures," I mumbled. _Apart from Sydney, all alchemists I had ever met were really arrogant!_

Surprisingly, Sydney agreed with my remark.

**Ghostly evidence didn't convince either of them.**

"But you believed me," I said softly to Lissa, remembering her reaction when I had declared that Jill was her half sister. "I hadn't even revealed the evidence then."

"I don't need evidence to believe you, Rose." Lissa replied, just as softly. "You know I always have and always will believe anything you say."

I grinned at her happily and pulled her into a hug. _That's my best friend, always the same, always having a sort of blind trust on me. Like always, I hoped I was worthy of that trust._

Releasing Lissa, I turned to see everyone smiling at us both, marveling our friendship. Lissa and I smiled at them and sat back in our seats.

Dimitri pulled me to him and ran his fingers through my hair soothingly while Christian wrapped his arms around Lissa. _We both had our guys and each other. What more did we need?_

'**I don't really see why Tatiana's spirit would want to deceive me,' I argued. **

"Yeah," Adrian agreed, Jill nodding along.

'**And the Alchemists aren't all-knowing. **

"Definitely not," I agreed with my own statement.

**The note says this is a pretty heavily guarded secret from Moroi—it makes sense it would be secret from the Alchemists too.'**

"It makes perfect sense," Mikhail commented.

**Sydney scoffed, not liking my 'all-knowing' comment, but otherwise remained silent. It was Dimitri who pushed forward, refusing to take anything on faith without more evidence.**

"Typical, Comrade." I whispered in his ear. He smiled slightly and tightened his arms around me.

'**You've said before that it's not always clear what the ghosts are trying to say,' he pointed out. 'Maybe you misread her.'**

'**I don't know . . .' I thought again about her solemn, translucent face. 'I think she did write this note. My gut says she did.' I narrowed my eyes. 'You know it's been right before. Can you trust me on this?'**

"That's what convinced me," Dimitri told me quietly, "your instincts are almost always right."

I smiled, already knowing that Dimitri had changed his opinion only after I reminded him of how my gut feeling had been right in the past.

**He stared at me for several moments, and I held that gaze steadily. **

Jill giggled.

**In that uncanny way of ours, I could guess what was going on. The whole situation was far-fetched, but he knew I was right about my instincts. They'd proven true in the past. No matter what he'd been through, no matter the current antagonism between us, **

Dimitri arched an eyebrow at the word 'antagonism'.

Well, what else was I supposed to say? I thought his love for me had faded and dragging me through the woods hadn't exactly convinced me otherwise

**he still knew me enough to trust in this.**

"It is indeed uncanny," mom admitted, referring to our interaction, "the way you both seem to know what's on the other's mind."

I smiled and kissed Dimitri's cheek, happy that mom had acknowledged the depth of mine and Dimitri's love for each other!

**Slowly, almost reluctantly, he nodded. 'But if we decided to search for this alleged **

I snorted.

**sibling, we'd be going against Lissa's instructions to stay put.'**

'**You believe that note?' exclaimed Sydney. 'You're **_**considering **_**listening to it?'**

"Ouch," Adrian flinched jokingly.

I laughed, "You really hurt me, Syd."

Sydney snorted, "I most likely angered you, not hurt you."

**A flash of anger lit up within me, **

Everyone laughed.

_Was I really becoming predicable that all are guessing my reactions correctly?_

Then again, these are people closest to me. They do know me well enough!

**one I worked to hide. **

"You didn't succeed in hiding it from me," Dimitri revealed.

"Yeah, because you are you." I retorted.

Dimitri laughed at my absurd sentence.

**Of course. Of course this would be the next obstacle: **

"Them not believing you?" Mikhail asked.

"Not exactly." I replied, "Continue, mom."

**Dimitri's inability to disobey Lissa. Sydney feared Abe, which I could kind of understand, **

Sydney smiled at me, "thank you."

I grinned at her, "no problem. I know how bad old man can be."

Abe chuckled in reply, proud of his badassness.

**but Dimitri's concern was still the lofty vow of chivalry he'd made to Lissa. **

Christian smiled, "Always the chivalrous man,"

Everyone nodded, most likely remembering their own experiences with Dimitri's chivalrous side.

I smiled proudly at my comrade, though I had been pissed off at that time by Dimitri's attitude towards Lissa.

Dimitri smiled at everyone and looked away, not comfortable with the praise. I chuckled at his behavior. _Always the modest one! Not to mention he looked too cute, squirming like this!_

Hearing my laugh, Dimitri looked at me with narrowed eyes, most likely guessing my thoughts. I kissed him quickly to distract him and turned to mom expectantly, not giving Dimitri any chance to react.

**I took a deep breath. Telling him how ridiculous I thought he was behaving wouldn't accomplish what I needed.**

"What is this?" Christian asked, faking incredulity, "Rose had some forethought?"

I rolled my eyes at him.

'**Technically, yes. But if we could actually prove she wasn't the last in her family, it would help her a lot. We can't ignore the chance, and if you manage to keep me out of trouble while we do it'—I tried not to grimace at that—'then there shouldn't be a problem.'**

"Rose logic!" Christian, Adrian, Eddie, Sydney and Lissa chorused together then laughed at their timing.

"Only you would come up with something so twisted," mom said, shaking her head.

"Twisted or not," I replied smugly, "it achieved the objective."

That statement received exasperated sighs, chuckles and smiles.

**Dimitri considered this. He knew me. He also knew I would use roundabout logic if need be to get my way.**

Dimitri sighed, "I know that better than anyone."

I laughed, "poor you."

"On the contrary, I consider myself very lucky." Dimitri whispered in my ear, voice all husky and desirable.

I shivered and snuggled closer to him.

'**Okay,' he said at last. I saw the shift in his features. The decision was made, and he'd stick to it now. **

Dimitri smiled.

'**But where do we start? You have no other clues, aside from a mysterious note.'**

"But you had the Super-brain Sage." Adrian reminded us.

Sydney smacked his arm while everyone laughed at Adrian's words.

"Don't worry," I laughed, "the investigation was started by none other than _super-brain Sage_."

Sydney huffed but smiled.

**It was déjà vu and reminded me of Lissa and Christian's earlier conversation with Abe when they were figuring out where to start their investigation. She and I lived parallel lives, it seemed, both pursuing an impossible puzzle with a sketchy trail. **

"And we made it through that." Lissa said, "You solved both the puzzles."

"Not without help," I replied.

It was true. Lissa's own investigation had helped me figure out how Tasha had managed to murder the queen. The alchemists, though unwillingly, had helped me find the murderer. And of course, without Dimitri, Sydney or Sonya, I never would have been able to find Jill.

"But it was you who pushed through and achieved all that," Dimitri murmured to me, knowing what I was thinking.

I smiled at him and got one of the sweet Dimitri- smiles in return.

**As I replayed their discussion, I attempted the same reasoning Abe had used: **

Abe smirked, smugness oozing through him.

I groaned and dramatically smacked my forehead against the arm of the couch.

Everyone got quite a laugh out of my performance.

**without clues, start working through obvious conclusions.**

'**Obviously, this is a secret,' I said. 'A big one. One people have apparently wanted to cover up—enough that they'd try to steal records about it and keep the Dragomirs out of power.' **

Adrian looked grim, most likely pondering over the fact that it had been his mother who stole the Alchemists' records.

**Someone had broken into an Alchemist building and taken papers indicating Eric Dragomir had indeed been funding a mystery woman. **

Sonya looked at Jill briefly, both of them looking grave.

**I pointed out to my companions that it seemed very likely to me this woman was the mother of his love child.**

Lissa tried hard to keep the disgusted grimace off her face. Jill flinched slightly but I didn't know if it was because she caught the look on Lissa's face or if she didn't like being branded as a 'love child'.

'**You could look into that case some more.' Those last words were spoken toward Sydney. Maybe she didn't care about another Dragomir, but the Alchemists still wanted to know who had stolen from them.**

Sydney nodded.

'**Whoa, hey. How was I not even part of this decision process?' **

Adrian smiled suddenly, "because you were an outsider to the love birds."

Dimitri snorted softly while I exclaimed, "not true! And don't dare call us love birds again, Mr. I-am-so-in-love-that-I- can't-think of-anything else."

Everyone burst out laughing. _I sure know how to make people laugh!_

**She still hadn't recovered from our conversation suddenly running away without her. **

I saw that Adrian was about to make some other stupid comment so I swiftly threw a cushion in his direction. He looked pretty shocked at being hit in the face unexpectedly and tried to get back at me. I foiled his attempt by catching the cushion, which he aimed at me, before it hit me. His crappy aim didn't help. I aimed the cushion at him again but before I could throw it, Dimitri tried to take it from me. I tried to fight him off and ended up throwing it on Christian's face. Christian laughed evilly before throwing two other cushions at me. Dimitri intercepted one and I caught the other and threw it at Eddie. Soon, all of us except mom and Mikhail were engaged in a cushion fight. Yes, even the old man and Sonya. After a great game which involved shrieks, squeals, swearing and laughter, we settled down to read again.

**After the way our night had gone so far, she didn't look too pleased about being sucked into another of my rogue schemes. **

Sydney smiled, still panting from our cushion fight.

'**Maybe breaking Lissa's orders is no big deal for you two, but **_**I'd **_**be going against Abe. He might not be so lenient.'**

Abe laughed, looking red faced and sweaty. I had never seen him have so much fun before. He was usually polished and straight-backed.

**It was a fair point. 'I'll pull in a daughterly favor,' I assured her.**

"Daughterly favor," mom repeated and chuckled over something. I didn't pay her any attention. I was busy trying to regulate my breathing. Dimitri helped by smoothing my hair and rubbing my back gently. He wasn't panting like me. In fact, he looked perfectly unruffled by the fight. Only change was that he was grinning now.

'**Besides, the old man **_**loves **_**secrets. **

"How well you knew your father even if it had just been a few months after you met him." Mom remarked.

I shrugged and grinned at Abe. It hadn't been that hard to figure him out!

**He'd be into this, believe me. And you've already found the biggest clue of all. I mean, if Eric was giving money to some anonymous woman, then why wouldn't it be for his secret mistress and child?'**

Lissa's smile vanished from her face. Jill was looking at her anxiously but Lissa didn't notice. She leaned into Christian for comfort and turned her face away from the rest of us.

'**Anonymous is the key word,' Sydney said, still clearly skeptical of **_**Zmey'**_**s 'leniency.'**

"I can be lenient, Sydney." Abe said smoothly, "you know that."

Sydney shrugged.

'**If your theory's right—and it's kind of a leap—we still have no idea who this mistress is. The stolen documents didn't say.'**

'**Are there other records that tie into the stolen ones? Or could you investigate the bank he was sending money to?' **

"Not bad, Rose." Eddie said, approving of my questions.

I smirked at him.

**The Alchemists' initial concern had simply been that someone had stolen hard copies of their records. Her colleagues had discovered which items were taken but hadn't given much thought to the content. I was willing to bet they hadn't searched for any other documents related to the same topic. She affirmed as much.**

'**You really have no idea how 'researching records' works, do you? It's not that easy,' she said. 'It could take a while.'**

"You need a place to stay first." Mikhail noted.

"That was where Sydney was leading us to." I replied, "_A place to stay_." The last part came out through clenched teeth. Dimitri and Sydney laughed at that. The others gave us puzzled looks. _They'll find out soon anyway!_

'**Well . . . I guess that's why it's good we're going somewhere, um, secure, right?' I asked. **

"Secure!" I snorted, remembering the keepers. Dimitri grinned and Sydney laughed again, looking like she couldn't wait to read all about my account on our stay at the keepers.

**Struck with the realization that we might need time to put our next step together, I could kind of see the disadvantage of having lost our out-of-the-way hideout.**

"Finally, she realizes her mistake!" Christian exclaimed.

"Don't forget the kind-of, Chris." Lissa reminded him.

"Yeah, Chris." I laughed, "I just could see the disadvantage of having escaped the motel. I didn't say I realized that it had been a mistake."

"You are impossible," he muttered.

"Thank you and same to you."

'**Secure . . .' She shook her head.**

"Meaning it's not secure?" Sonya asked, frowning.

"Wait and see," I sang.

'**Well, we'll see. I hope I'm not doing something stupid.'**

"Sydney doing something stupid?" Eddie asked, mocking shock, "never!"

Adrian chuckled as if he knew something that we didn't. Well, in regards to Sydney, he probably did.

**With those ominous words, silence fell. I wanted to know more about where we were going but felt I shouldn't push the small victory I'd made. **

"Sensible," Dimitri murmured.

I smiled at him.

**The victory I thought I'd made, at least.**

Dimitri raised an eyebrow.

**I wasn't entirely sure Sydney was 100 percent on board **

"I wasn't," Sydney confirmed, smiling at my scowl.

**but felt certain Dimitri had been convinced.**

Dimitri hmmed and kissed my forehead.

**Best not to agitate her right now. I looked at the GPS. Almost an hour. Enough time to check back on Lissa.**

"Time for a break!"

**AN: ****Well, regarding my updates, I'm sorry again. College has been tough(that's an understatement!). I have a lot of assignments and stuff to do so I can write RTP only in the weekends. Even my weekends aren't very free. There is always some or the other work to be done. Seriously, it's grueling! But I'll try my best to keep the updates frequent! I just hope you lot will have patience with me!**

**On a different note, how was this chapter? It feels like I haven't written Rose POV in so long! Please ****REVIEW ****and let me know what you think of it! :D**


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